The Last Dark Lord
by karloss999
Summary: When secrets come to light, When evil makes its move, When darkness drowns out the light. What can a hero do? Armed with knowledge long lost, wielding a power never seen before and aided by most surprising of allies, Harry Potter steps into the Dark... A Dark!Harry/Multi story with Evil!Dumbles, Traitor!Ron and PotionQueen!Molly. Rated M for gore, violence and sexual situations.
1. Secrets

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

[Edited 29:06:2018]

Secrets.

* * *

Harry landed on top of the Astronomy tower a few moments before Dumbledore and, before the old man could do anything, had disappeared beneath his cloak. Moments later the door leading into the castle banged open before starting to slowly close. Albus was still catching his breath a few minutes later when the sound of several people coming up drowned out the distant sounds of combat. The door burst open once more and with a shouted _Expellimarus_ the Elder wand left his hands. Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, the Carrow twins and Fenrir Greyback entered the open space on top of the highest tower at Hogwarts castle, Draco holding Dumbledore's wand in his left hand.

After a whole minute of silence, as Draco continued to point his wand at a resigned-looking Dumbledore, Fenrir snarled at the blond boy, "Well?"

The cold laughter that filled the air took everyone present by surprise, "You really can't see it?" the laughter seemed to come from every direction at once, with no discernible source, "The Ferret knows how to use his mouth but doesn't have the balls to kill a helpless old man."

"Potter!" Draco yelled out, his wand swinging wildly, having seemingly forgotten about Dumbledore.

More laughter filled the air, and the senior Death Eaters were suddenly reminded of a certain Dark Lord, "Come now Draco, it's not like I am making this up. Oh and don't bother puppy, you won't find me." the remark was obviously aimed at Greyback, who was sniffing the air, trying to find where Harry was. It seemed to only enrage the werewolf more. "Still, I am curious. Since when is Tom sending out his inner circle on suicide missions? Not that I am complaining of course, but still, seems like a waste." The Death Eaters exchanged a confused glance, sure the resistance had been a bit harder than expected, but to call this a suicide mission... At that point they noticed that the sounds of battle had died off, the only sound left was that of the wind.

"Oh yes... I expect that all your compatriots below are dead by now. Such a pity." Dumbledore looked like he wanted to say something but was cut off by Harry continuing, "I wanted to kill some of them myself. Oh well, I suppose this will have to do." All of the armed wizards started to look around, searching for where the expected spells might be coming from. "Tell me, Albus, did you really think I wouldn't find out? Or did you think that even if I did, I would forgive you?" The already pale complexion of the Headmaster paled even further. "Ahh, I see you understand now. Yes, that is what you did, and now, at long last, you get your reward. Good-bye, Albus Dumbledore." _**Avada Kedavra**_

The spell took everyone by surprise, nobody even managed to move as the green bolt appeared in mid-air and, flying right past the assembled Death Eaters, hit Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Defeater of Grindelwald, Leader of the Light, right in the chest and sent his body over the railing of the tower.

Hearing many footsteps coming from below, with Fenrir confirming they were not fellow Death Eaters the five unshrunk their brooms and rapidly left for the Hogwarts ward border. It wasn't until his port-key activated that Draco noticed he no longer held Dumbledore's wand.

* * *

 _Most stories begin at the beginning, then go through the middle to arrive at the end. This is not one of those stories..._

* * *

Harry Potter could not sleep. It wasn't that he didn't want to, he had lessons tomorrow after all, he simply could not. The day was October 31st. Halloween. His fourth Halloween at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. And the fourth Halloween in a row that saw something go wrong in his life.

In his first year he came face-to-waist with a grown mountain Troll, one that seemed intent on killing him. It was the first time Harry had killed. The headmaster had then tried to obliviate him and the two others, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, to make them think that Ron had merely knocked the troll out, but for some reason Harry still remembered the truth. He didn't know _why_ the spell didn't take, but had decided not to mention it. That year ended with him confronting a possessed teacher and the murderer of his parents. He also _technically_ killed a human. Sort of.

His second year it was on this day that the first petrification happened. That brought about the whole 'Heir of Slytherin' debacle, suspicious glances, fearful looks. Oh, and his secret ability to talk to snakes became not-so-secret. That was... _'fun'_. And then, just to make sure Harry knew Fate hated him, his best friend, Hermione Granger, got petrified.

It stopped the fearful looks but in Harry's opinion he would have preferred those to seeing his friend in that state. He had spent every moment he could by her bedside. It was also then that he begun to consider what it was he felt for the bushy-haired bookworm. Oh, he also had to kill... yet again. Except this time it was a sixty feet long Basilisk. And because of his carelessness he had to do it with just a sword. A really fancy sword, but still, a sword. Harry still wasn't sure how he survived that mess.

Last year was... strange. In a way it was the calmest of the three and yet it was also when he came closest to dying. Kind of strange, considering he had been bitten by a millennia-old Basilisk the year before, but that's what happens when you have to contend with soul-sucking daemons placed around a school to protect it. Harry still considered that to be a perfect example of wizarding world's stupidity. He also met his Godfather. And the bastard who had betrayed his parents. And, despite what the general populace thought, they were two different people.

Of course, just when it seemed that his life was about to take an upturn, Fate kicked him in the proverbial groin; the traitor escaped, his godfather was forced to continue living as a wanted criminal, his honorary uncle almost ate him and oh yes, he almost had his soul devoured by the aforementioned soul-sucking daemons. Again. On the plus side he had managed to officially break the laws of Time by saving himself via the use of a Time Turner. According to Hermione that wasn't supposed to be possible. It was also at the end of that year that he decided to... try... dating Hermione. Next year. After Halloween. Just in case.

And that brought Harry back to present and the reason he couldn't sleep. As of a couple hours ago he was the _fourth_ champion in the _Tri_ -wizard tournament. A tournament that is meant for of-age witches and wizards. A tournament that he couldn't have possibly entered himself into. A tournament that he had no desire to participate in in the first place. A tournament that all the staff agreed he has been forced into.

So of course the whole school thinks that he cheated his way in... somehow. Because being the bloody boy-who-lived isn't enough fame for him. Because a thousand galleons is a significant sum compared to the Potter-Black wealth he's heir to. Because having beaten Lord bloody Voldemort three times before even hitting puberty isn't excitement enough for him. _Wizards..._

That by itself wouldn't be so bad. Harry had almost expected this kind of reaction, after all it's not like the sheep listened to reason the last three years. The whispers and stares didn't hurt. Even the rage of his supposed 'best mate' Ronald Bilius Weasley didn't hurt, Harry had expected the jealous prat to explode. No. What _hurt_ was Hermione.

She hadn't said anything. In fact that might have been better, had she yelled at him, called him out on the seeming cheating, done anything but look at him like he had betrayed her. Now, three hours after everyone else had fallen to sleep Harry lay on his bed, unable to calm himself.

One year. All he had wanted was one bloody year of peace, no Voldemort, no soul-sucking monsters, no giant snakes. The anger in him was one spark away from exploding. Deciding he wasn't going to get any sleep like this Harry put on some warmer clothes and, after grabbing his invisibility cloak left the dorm.

Harry had decided to just wander around the school under his cloak for a while, try to calm his mind. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going and so it was with no small surprise that Harry found himself staring at the door of the second floor girls bathroom. Home of Moaning Myrtle, Tom Riddle's aka Voldemort's first victim. The place where he and Hermione (and Ron, he supposed) had brewed the Polyjuice potion during their second year. Also, the place where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was located. Making a snap decision Harry entered the bathroom, hoping against all hope that the occupant was not home. She wasn't.

The floor of the tunnels beneath the sink was as dirty as Harry remembered. As he proceeded deeper into the passage he arrived at the chamber proper, the doors still open. Entering the room Harry took a moment to look at the obvious battle damage his 'fight' with the giant serpent had left; there were several cracked columns and many of the snake-shaped braziers were shattered, the ever-burning oil contained within them pooling at the corners of the chamber, giving the giant room an even more of an eerie feel.

Finally reaching the centre of the room Harry took a moment to look over the giant snake he had fought. For some strange reason he thought it looked bigger now that it had back in his second year. Harry blamed adrenalin. It was as he caught sight of the ink stain on the floor next to the red stain of his own blood that the emotions inside him begun to overflow.

He knew, he just _knew_ that Riddle had something to do with what had happened today. The undying bastard kept coming after him and he didn't even know why! Dumbledore knew, the old man had all but admitted it. And then said that Harry was too young to know. He had just killed a man and Dumbledore had the gall to tell him that he should not rush out of his childhood?! Has that fossil of a man gone so senile he doesn't even understand what is happening around him!? Or is he really so arrogant he thinks he can just play god! With a yell Harry turned to the far wall of the chamber and threw the strongest blasting curse he could.

And another.

And another.

And a cutting curse, and a banisher and more and more...

Ten minutes later Harry had taken to imagining that he was throwing the spells at people he had begun to hate. Vernon; _Reducto_ to the face, Petunia; _Diffindo_ to the chest, Dudley; banisher right at the stomach, Dumbledore; _Incendio_ to that oversized beard of his, Herm... He froze.

Hermione. He didn't know what to think about her reaction but at that moment Harry knew that he could never hate her, not her. She could call him names, call him a cheat, ignore him, insult him, anything. He could not hate her because... he... He, Harry Potter, was in love with Hermione Granger.

That single realization was enough to wash away the anger that had been slowly gathering around his soul ever since the night he had been robbed of his chance at leaving the Dursleys. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry; he was in love, and he had no idea what she thought about him, much less felt.

"Better?"

Harry spun around, a half-formed stunner on his lips when his mind registered who, or rather _what_ had spoken. In the middle of the chamber stood a figure. It looked like a young woman, Harry would guess around twenty years old, dressed in a simple dress. That however was not the surprising part; no _that_ came from the fact that the woman was... well, Harry couldn't help but make a comparison to a human-shaped _Patronus_. "Wh... Who are you?" Harry stumbled over his words a little.

"A friend, Harry Potter." The woman smiled a warm smile.

"Yeah..." Harry drawled, "You'll have to forgive me for not buying that. I have had enough experiences with disembodied people; none of them good."

"Ye _sss._ " The woman frowned as she glanced toward the dead basilisk, "I am... _painfully_ aware of that." She sighed, "At the very least, know that I consider Thomas Marvolo Riddle an enemy and you a potential ally."

Harry relaxed a bit at that, but the suspicion he had formed remained, "So who are you then?"

"That... is a bit of a story." she smiled at him. "But one you need to hear." After Harry sat down at one of the more clean parts of the floor she begun, "Before I start I must ask that you allow me to finish before asking any questions, many of those you will no doubt have at the start will be answered by the end." seeing Harry nod she continued, "I was... born a little over one thousand years ago. For many years I travelled the world with my father. It wasn't until he met three other people with beliefs and dreams similar to his that we finally settled down." Harry had a _very_ good idea where this was going but he kept quiet.

"My father and his friends wanted to create something that had never existed before, a school of magic. Obviously many places had had organized magical education before, old Egypt or the Roman empire just to name the two biggest, but there had never been a school dedicated to the study of magic above all else. _That_ was their dream. And it was here, in a remote valley of Scotland that they found the perfect place for it." She gestured around the chamber, "This chamber is located directly beneath the magical nexus of the castle above. And beneath it... is the single largest convergence of ley-lines in the world." Harry couldn't hide his shock at that, he had read that Hogwarts was on top of a major convergence, but _the_ largest? "Because of its location the castle can have its immense wards, the largest ghost population known and walls covered in enchanted portraits that never need to sleep. It literally has more magic than could ever be used." she smiled, "And all of it is passing through this room." Harry sat in silence for several minutes before the woman continued."

Well, I am sure you have figured out who my father is. And yes, I know what the history books tell about him. That is the second thing you need to know; the truth about Salazar Slytherin and the events surrounding the death of the Founders." Harry looked up at surprise, he of course remembered the story of how Slytherin had killed the other three while dying himself. That wasn't the truth? "The four were close friends and over the years my father fell in love with Rowena, and she with him. They had two children, the daughter became Rowena's heir, while the son... Well." she sighed, "The son became Salazar's. And, like his father, he eventually left to travel the world. His parents did not see anything wrong with it, after all they had done the same thing. Many years later there was an... incident. Rowena's daughter, Helena, died. Her ghost still looks over the house of her mother, unable to move on." Harry was shocked at this revelation, the ghost of Ravenclaw house was the daughter of their founder?

"It was a... number of months later that Rowena bore two more children, twins in fact. Both her and Salazar were quite old at that point, you must understand. It was seen as a minor miracle. Both children were only a couple of years old when Salazar's firstborn son returned from his travels." At this the woman took on a sad expression, "However... the man who returned was nothing like the one who had left. Now, you have to understand that the four did believe that magicals were in some way... 'better' than non-magicals. There was nothing truly wrong with that belief, it was the same with nobility, a noble was believed to just be better than a peasant. That was how people thought at those times." Harry nodded, he could accept that.

"The biggest thing was that my father, like the others, believed that any life blessed with magic was... well, blessed. Precious, to be nurtured, taught, helped. Salazar spent many weeks every summer travelling to out-of-the-way villages looking for anyone with magical abilities. In a way I suppose you could call him the first champion of the muggleborn." Harry couldn't help but gawk at that, Salazar Slytherin: Champion of the Muggleborn. Half of Slytherin house would flip their shit if they learned of this. Harry couldn't help the chuckle as he imagined Malfoy's face as Binns tells the class about this.

"What happened?" The question left his mouth before he could remember that he wasn't supposed to ask any yet.

"Getting to that." the woman smiled for a moment before her expression became grim, "As I said, Salazar's son had changed. He had developed the idea that some magicals were better than others. That those who had magical ancestors were inherently better than those who did not. He tried to convince the four to close the school to any who were not of magical families, that they were not 'worthy' of learning the secrets of magic. The founders, obviously, disagreed. It got so bad that Salazar actually considered disowning him. Sadly... he never got the chance."

Harry listened with rapt attention, he didn't know how, but he _knew_ that the being in front of him was telling the truth. "The son, who I refuse to refer to by name any other than The Traitor, had developed a potion that allowed him to temporarily take on the appearance of someone else. I believe you are familiar with it." Harry certainly was, and the thought that it had been developed by such a vile wizard made him feel sick, "The Traitor ambushed his own father one day, killed him and destroyed the body. Then he used the potion to take on the appearance of his now dead father and went to the meeting the four held at the beginning of every year. There he used the element of surprise to mortally wound Helga before anyone could react. Godric and Rowena engaged him in battle, both quickly recognizing that while it was the face of their old friend, it was not him. By the time the castle servants managed to break the magical seals on the room all four were dead. And because the traitor died while under the effect of the potion, everyone though he was Salazar."

Harry once more sat in silence for what felt like forever, his mind furiously trying to understand what he had been told. "But... if... how did..." he was at a loss of words.

"How did the ideas of the Traitor survive? He did not die without leaving behind progeny of his own. One who was thoroughly _educated_ in the beliefs of the Traitor. Those beliefs would later go on to become the foundation of the Pureblood ideals, while the descendants of the Traitor became so over-obsessed with blood purity they would eventually begin to marry first cousins and even outright siblings. That family, the Gaunts, would eventually produce one Tom Marvollo Riddle." Harry nodded along, he had figured it would be something like that.

"The twins however..." Harry snapped to attention, "There was a lot of negativity focused on Salazar and his children specifically. The twins were secreted away from the castle by several servants who were still loyal to Salazar, knowing he would _never_ do what everyone thought had happened." The woman smiled for the first time since she begun this dark part of the story, "Like the son of the Traitor, the twins had to abandon their real names and were given new ones." She paused, seemingly finding amusement in Harry's impatient expression, "You might have heard of them. Myradin Emrys and Morgan Le Fay."


	2. Revelations

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

[Edited 29:06:2018]

Revelations.

* * *

" _Like the son of the Traitor, the twins had to abandon their real names and were given new ones." She paused, seemingly finding amusement in Harry's impatient expression, "You might have hear of them. Myradin Emrys and Morgan Le Fay."_

Harry did not know how many more shocks he could take. _This_ was not what he had expected when he went for his night-time wandering around the castle. "Merlin... was the son... of Salazar Slytherin?" Harry finally managed.

"Yes." the woman merely smiled. "As much as I hate seeing my father's name besmirched, it always amuses me hear the same people who decry him praise his son."

Harry chucked, "Right. I wonder how many of those same people would jump to call Merlin a dark wizard if this came out." he shook his head, "The wizarding world is not known for it's logic after all."

"Sadly that is a trend I have noticed." the woman nodded. "Well, now that you know that, there are a few more things I need to tell you about. You will understand why after I am done." Harry warily nodded, he wasn't sure he could take any more world-shattering revelations tonight. "As you might have gathered, I am not, nor have I ever been, a human." Harry nodded, he had a good guess as to _who_ he has been talking to.

"When the castle was in the final stages of construction the four wanted to add a guardian of sorts. A being whose purpose would be to protect this castle from all who mean harm to those that call it home." Harry nodded, it sounded like a sensible precaution."Now Godric, being Godric, wanted a dragon." Harry wasn't surprised, "The others managed to talk him down on the argument that while a dragon would provide a powerful defence, they only live for a few centuries at most. That was when I... volunteered." Harry only barely noticed his eyebrows travelling towards his hairline.

"You have to understand, over the years I had come to hold beliefs very much like the founders, I too believed, and still believe, that all magical life is precious. I argued, successfully, that I was more than capable of defending the castle against any invading force. Many armies would be willing to fight a dragon, but not me. On top of that, as a basilisk I could sleep for centuries if needed, my magic sustaining my body, keeping it ready for any activity required of me. In the end, they agreed." Harry glanced over to the corpse of the massive serpent and back to the ghostly woman before him, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"I will explain. You see, when this chamber was modified, and I was bound to the magic of this school, well... The four outsmarted themselves. It took several decades before it became obvious but... the vast amount of magic flowing through me and into the castle had bit of a... side effect. As I slept my mind and soul begun to... wander. One day I found myself outside the castle, looking at the group of children arriving, while being aware that my body was down here, asleep. They couldn't see me, hear me, and in fact one of them walked right through me. It was... disconcerting. After some experimentation I discovered that I could leave my body at will and travel to any place within the castle wards. It helped with the loneliness after Salazar... died." Harry was sure he saw a spectral tear run down her cheek, "It also helped me stay aware of the situation in the wider world, it's why I know how to speak modern English." Harry had not even considered that detail.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't talk to anyone. Well, that is not entirely true. I felt a slight connection with several students over the centuries, I could have reached out to them, but... they were all descendants of the Traitor. And they all shared in his beliefs. As I refused to have anything to do with them, I endured the role of the unseen observer. I have seen the heights and lows of this school, teachers great and terrible. And, to be completely honest, right now the school is in the deepest hole I have ever seen." Harry wanted to protest but was cut off, "If it wasn't for a handful of good teachers doing what they can, I would have to say that the dream of my father and his friends had died."

After several minutes of silence she continued, "And now we come to the parts most relevant to you." Harry perked up once more. He was slightly surprised he did not feel sleepy, it was the middle of the night after all, but that concern was overtaken by the curiosity and excitement of what he was learning here. "About fifty years ago a boy in his fifth year found the entrance to this chamber. It was the first time since the time of the founders that anyone else had been down here, and on top of that he could talk to me. I was exited. Honestly, I thought that he might be a descendant of one of the twins, given that the Gaunt line had disappeared from my sight centuries ago. After almost a thousand years of watching and listening I was eager for a conversation, for someone who would, could listen." Harry could hardly imagine what it could feel like, spending so much time being unable to talk to anyone, only watch and listen.

"Over the months however I begun to gain a bad feeling about the boy, Tom." she gave a significant glance to Harry, who immediately understood. "One day I decided to investigate him; I listened in on what others were saying about him, what books he had taken from the library, I tried to understand what made me so vary of him. I had no idea I was about to get my answer." Here she turned to the corpse in the room and sighed, "While my mind was away he used a vile form of magic to... usurp, for lack of a better term, my body from me." Harry's eyes widened in shock.

"It was turned into what amounted to an advanced form of automaton. A magical golem. It would obey his every command but lacked the understanding of my body or the ability to control its magics. I could spend an entire day staring into the eyes of a human and not cause any harm or discomfort whatsoever. The golem... it had no control over my gaze, anyone looking at its eyes would die instantly. My poison lost much of its potency, as its true power is that it magically adapts to kill anything I target as fast as possible. Without that it was just a strong serpentine poison. The golem had motor control, the ability to move but little understanding on how to actually use my body in a battle." she turned back to Harry, "I do not mean to take away from your achievement, very few people would have survived much less triumphed in that situation, but if you had faced me and not that pitiful golem mind, you would not have stood a chance."

Harry felt both intimidated and relieved, as he remembered the fight and still, _somehow_ , knew that the woman/basilisk was telling the truth. "Uh... I'm sorry I..."

He was cut off before he could finish his apology, "You did what you had to. I knew that then and I know that now. Besides," she smirked, "It's not like the damage is too big, a few spells here and there and I should be able to use it again." Harry couldn't help gawking like an idiot. "Of course I no longer can inhabit it entirely, my consciousness has moved fully to the castle by now, but I could use the body for its intended purpose; to defend this castle and its inhabitants." she smirked at the gob-smacked look Harry sported, "I don't expect you to jump at fixing it for me, besides, it can stay like this for a few years yet before any decay will start." Harry fell back to the floor, this was approaching that point of 'too much'.

"There is one last thing. One that you _must_ hear before you leave." Harry sat back up at that. What the hell was that supposed to mean? "As I told you, Tom is the descendant of the Traitor, the son who killed my father." Harry nodded, "And I hope you still remember that I mentioned Salazar had another son?" Harry snorted, he was not likely to forget _that_ piece of information any time soon.

"It is common belief that Myradin, or Merlin as you know him, died without having any children. That is wrong. He had a son. That son was unable to use magic however, he had the power, just not the ability to call on it. It was a mystery that Myradin never solved. His son went on to live in the mundane world and eventually disappeared. I should note that the only daughter of his sister faced the same fate. The children disappeared and their bloodlines seemed lost. Until a little over twenty years ago a child entered this castle. A child whose very presence had my magic sing. I recognized it instantly, in her flowed the blood of my father, and more importantly, the man I was proud to call brother."

Harry was mildly worried his face will get stuck at the wide-eyed-shock expression, "She was a direct descendant of Myradin, of Merlin Emrys-Slytherin. My body had been lost to the spell Tom wove upon it but I had other means to reach out to her. Less direct and far more complicated, but still, I was exited, happy even to see her." A smirk emerged on her face, "That child was one Lily Evans, your mother."

At this point Harry's brain decided it had had enough and shut down.

* * *

Harry walked down the silent corridors of Hogwarts without fear. Not because he was by far the most powerful person there (although that did help) but because he knew that anyone who might still be in the hallways was loyal to only him. The Gryffindor-Ravenclaw strike team that had rushed onto the astronomy tower moments after the Death Eaters left had already gone down to the great hall, Harry had stayed behind to make sure the Traitors didn't double back. After he saw their port-keys activate he left the tower and proceeded to the great hall himself.

Harry ignored the house elves that were busy cleaning up the mess outside the RoR, he did have to watch where he stepped though, someone had gotten trigger happy with an entrails-expelling curse. Shaking his head in amusement over how happy the elves were at the mess on the seventh floor corridor he made his way down the grand staircase. Arriving at the bottom he smirked at the five black-robed bodies that had obviously fallen from quite a few floors up. He was happy to note that one of those was Rabastan Lestrange. That gave good odds on the other two having been in the castle as well. "Neville must have had a field day." he mumbled to himself as he continued on his way.

Finally entering the great hall he didn't pay any attention to the people present or the half dozen bodies lying by the wall, instead he pulled out his 'new' wand and waved it at the staff table in a seemingly casual manner. The table disappeared and the chairs moved from a line into a half-circle arrangement. Without bothering to slow down Harry proceeded to the throne-like chair usually used by the late Headmaster. After he had sat down eight people moved forward and took places at the other seats. Two remained empty. Everyone else continued standing, though they did shift so everyone could see and be seen. "Report." Harry looked over his inner circle.

"Not counting the group at the Astronomy tower the invaders suffered total casualties. Our forces received a few minor injuries during the bating phase with no further injuries or casualties after you gave the kill order." Susan Bones gave the report in her usual professional, almost clinical, manner. Harry liked that about her... well, it was one of the things he liked about her.

"Good. Any priority targets?"

"All three Lestranges, Rookwood and Dawlish." Luna recited in her usual dreamy voice.

"Dawlish? Oh, Amelia will love to hear that." Harry laughed. "Where's..?" he trailed off.

"Daphne is coordinating the processing of the traitors in the snake pit and Neville is..."

"Getting a souvenir." Blaize was interrupted as Neville Longbottom walked up to one of the empty chairs. Nobody missed the head he dropped next to it as he sat down. "Sorry I'm late. Wanted to get this before any of the elves get a chance to vanish her body."

"It's fine." Harry laughed. "Had fun?"

"Plenty."

"Alright." Harry smiled and got up. He took a moment to look at every person, at _his followers_ before speaking, "Today was a major victory for our cause. Not only have we ensured the safety and sanctity of this place of learning; we have eliminated several major threats to our long term plans, we have brought justice to the traitors and..." Harry paused, "And vengeance for their victims. On that note," Harry gestured to one of the elves standing to the side, "Remus, I do believe I promised you something." he held out his hand to the werewolf, a small rune-stone in it.

"Is that?"

"The trigger for a remotely activated explosion curse I left on Greyback? Yes." He turned to the modified pensive that Dobby just finished setting up, "Before you use it though..." he hit a sequence of runes and the seemingly empty container was filled with a black mist-like substance before a projection appeared above it. Everyone shuffled some more to see it.

 _ **Crucio**_

The shape of a blonde writhing in pain formed above the pensieve. The agony-filled screams of one Draco Malfoy were met with many grins, especially among the Slytherin contingent.

After almost a full minute the curse was lifted and a highly recognizable voice spoke, "That wand was half the reason I sent you after the old fool in the first place! For you to lose it!" _**Crucio**_

While those present in the hall enjoyed 'Riddle-TV', Harry pulled out the wand in question and begun to twirl it in his hands. He caught the eye of Luna who noticed what he was doing and smiled, her hand reaching for the necklace Xeno had given her. It was done.

"Severus," Harry was broken from his musings by the torture pausing, "Are you sure it was Potter who did it?"

"It was definitely his voice, master." the prostrate form of the former Potions teacher of Hogwarts was met with smirks from almost everyone present.

"I still have a hard time believing that golden boy Potter would, much less could, use a killing curse. What if it was a trick?"

"It was no trick." Fenrir growled, sounding more like an animal than a man, "The old goat was dead as a stone when he went flying down the tower. When we were leaving I saw his body down at the bottom, barely more than a stain. Dumbledore is dead."

"I see. Do any of you have anything else to add?"

"Yes. I..." Whatever the man-wolf was about to say would remain unknown as at that exact moment Remus Lupin forced a small amount of magic into the rune-stone and triggered the spell. The hall witnessed as the most hated werewolf in Europe if not the world exploded. Literally. Malfoy, Snape and the Carrows were covered in blood and gore, and no-one there doubted that Voldemort was in the same state.

"Moony."

"Yes Padfoot?" the grinning werewolf turned to his oldest still-living friend.

"That was beautiful."

"I know."


	3. Changes

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

[Edited 29:06:2018]

Changes.

* * *

Harry came to feeling the recognizable smell of Hogwarts' hospital wing. Slowly opening his eyes he noted that it was light outside. He tried sitting up only to fall back, groaning in pain. _Everything_ was sore. Harry tried to remember what happened to get him here, but the last thing he remembered was talking to the... ghost? spirit? he had no idea really... Talking to the basilisk he had killed back in second year... except not really.

As more of the last nights conversation came back to him, Harry became only more confused as to how he ended up in the hospital wing. After all, the last thing he remembered was being in the Chamber of Secrets, being told that... That his mum was a descendant of Merlin... who was Slytherin's son... And that she was their heir... Meaning Harry was the heir of Merlin on top being Slytherin's. He groaned.

"How do you keep ending up in these situations, mister Potter?" the voice of Poppy Pomfrey, the unquestioned queen of this part of the castle, forced Harry to reopen his eyes.

"What?"

She sighed, "I got woken up last night by a frantic house elf that had just brought you in. Said he found you unconscious in a hallway. You were suffering from the worst case of magical overcharge I have ever seen. Just what were you doing?" Poppy was notably worried by the end.

"I..." Harry paused. What _did_ happen? And what does Pomfrey mean by magical overcharge?

 _'The binding on your magic reacted badly with the wild magic flowing into you from the chamber.'_

Harry barely managed to avoid jumping into the air as the familiar voice filled his mind. Making a guess he tried to think back, _'What? What is happening? No, what happened? I don't...'_

 _'Calm yourself. I will explain. When you fell unconscious there was a reaction between the magic in the chamber and that inside of you. Normally that would not happen, but after your... experience in your second year there was a small amount of wild magic nested inside you. That small piece tried to draw in more power to help you recover. Given that you were at the place with the highest concentration of wild magic in the world... It got more than it bargained for. I honestly didn't know this was even possible but... It happened.'_

 _'What did?'_

 _'I can explain it better back in the chamber. As to how we are speaking... The magic of the chamber tried to bind you to the castle. I, unfortunately, could not stop it. Fortunately however I had enough control to redirect the type of binding that formed.'_

 _'What?'_

 _'I have watched you since you entered these halls Harry Potter. And I have faith that I have made the right decision. My master.'_

"Mister Potter!" madame Pomfrey's voice broke through Harry's thoughts. Turning at her he blinked in confusion at her annoyed expression. "Back are you? My scans tell me you are fine now, but I still need to know what happened."

"I..." Harry considered what to tell the matron. Anything he told her would most likely be known by Dumbledore by the end of the day...

 _'Do not trust him. There are many things we still have to talk about.'_

Making a decision Harry started, "I needed a bit of air after... well, after what happened yesterday." the expression on the healer's face softened a little, "I didn't want to stay in the common room, and I know it is against the rules, but I..." Harry sighed, he really didn't need to act for this, "I just couldn't stay there. I needed a walk, to clear my head." _'Ha!'_ "I... honestly don't remember much. I was walking along the..." _'Third floor.'_ "Third floor corridor and then... woke up here." he frowned, "I suppose it is possible something hit me from behind."

Poppy frowned at that, "Highly unlikely. There were no injuries on you and even if you were attacked it does not explain your magic." she rose an eyebrow.

 _'The goblet. It is supposed to ensure a fair competition.'_

Harry blinked at that, before frowning slightly, "Back when I was reading about the Tournament there was a mention about the goblet of fire ensuring a fair competition. Could that have something to do with what happened to me?"

 _'Good, good. Don't tell, have them make the assumptions you want them to have.'_ Harry was still slightly disconcerted about having a voice in his head telling him how to act, but decided to trust it, this time at least.

"That's... possible." Poppy admitted after several long moments of silence. "You _are_ several years behind the others in magical development. Well... you were several years behind." she begun to nod as her thought developed further, "If you experienced such a sudden growth burst in your magical power it would explain both the magical overcharge, as your body struggled to adjust to the change, and the fact that you ended up unconscious."

Poppy frowned before passing Harry his wand, "Please cast a spell. Something simple, a _Lumos_ will do." Harry complied and held the spell as Poppy ran some scans. After she was done she chuckled in amusement, "Well, there is a definite increase in your magical power. The strange part however is that instead of being further down the magical maturity scale you have simply received a straight up power boost. Incredible!" Poppy smiled at the end, "This would certainly put you at an even standing to the other champions, at least power-wise. The headmaster..."

"Do you have to tell him?" Harry tried to 'test the waters' as it were.

"Yes." the healer frowned once more, "Even if I didn't have to inform him as Headmaster about any magical accidents that happen to students, I would still inform him as your magical guardian." She waved her wand over Harry one more time, "If you're feeling up for it, lunch is about to start. Try to be careful with using any magic, your spells will certainly be more powerful than you are used to. Actually, just to be on the safe side, I am excusing you from the rest of your lessons today. Find some place to test your new power level, get used to the change."

She turned to leave but paused before walking away, "And please try to avoid having to be rescued again... Harry." It was only after the healer had left and Harry started to get up from the bed that he noticed one very, _very_ important detail: he was not wearing his glasses.

* * *

Harry entered the great hall deep in thought. Discovering that he no longer needed glasses was nice but only created more questions. Questions that 'Hogwarts' was unwilling to answer. Well, she kept insisting that he had to visit the Chamber to get answers. Harry wasn't entirely sure he wanted to go back down there, especially as both times he did, he ended up in the hospital wing.

 _'The second time was an honest accident. I had no idea this was possible, and it wasn't until the process had begun that I even recognized it for what it is.'_

 _'And you can't just tell me because...'_ Harry fought to keep his annoyance from showing on his face.

 _'Because there is more to it. And... honestly, because I have very few facts and a handful of guesses. You being down here will let us confirm what is and isn't true.'_

 _'Great.'_ Harry sighed as he sat down opposite to Hermione, who, as usual, was nose-deep in some book. _'Well, I suppose I have nothing better to do today.'_ Harry begun to fill his plate, waiting for his friend to notice him.

Several minutes later Hermione shot him an annoyed look and, without breaking from her reading spoke, "So why did you decide to skip on charms and transfiguration today? It's a wonder the teachers didn't take any points from you."

Harry needed a moment to gather his thoughts after the almost cold proclamation. "Hermione, I..." he started only to be ruthlessly interrupted.

"You what? Are a champion and don't need to do tests? Decided that because of that you don't need to bother with classes altogether? I thought better of you Harry James Potter."

Harry sat there, gawking at the girl before him. He did not notice nor truly cared that they had attracted an audience. Finally he stood up and moved to leave, "For your information I spent the entire morning in the hospital wing, _unconscious_. Thanks for your concern." with that he turned and left the now-silent great hall. Because of that he did not see that several emotions were fighting each other on Hermione's face, before she went back to reading her book. Nor did he notice the strangely satisfied look on the face of a certain red-head.

* * *

As Harry left the great hall his face showed annoyance and mild anger. Inside however he was on the verge of despair. He had truly believed that at least Hermione would be willing to believe him, or at least let him explain before deciding what to believe. Harry let his legs guide him along the corridors until he arrived at the stars leading into the dungeons. _'Go down.'_ he was interrupted by 'Hogwarts'

"What." He stopped, speaking out loud by accident.

 _'Go down. There is more than one entrance into the Chamber. I will guide you to the original one.'_ Shrugging, as he _really_ had nothing better to do, Harry followed the instructions given to him until he arrived at a spot almost within spitting distance of Slytherin common room. _'Say hi to your ancestor. And... me, I suppose.'_

Harry looked around the hallway and noticed the giant floor-to-ceiling painting of a young wizard with a snake resting around his shoulders. Harry had to reboot his mind as he noticed one distinct feature of the familiar-looking man. The eyes. He had bright emerald-green eyes. "Uhh... Salazar Slytherin, I assume?"

The man at the painting turned to him and sneered, "You are not one of my house."

"Um, no." Harry felt insulted by the man's demeanour and decided to express it, "I wanted nothing to do with the idiots and bigots who call your house home."

He expected many things, but not the bright smile that broke on Salazar's face. "Oh thank goodness. You have no idea how annoying all those idiots are. And they won't ever listen to me. From what I have seen from this latest batch, if I could I would probably feed half of them to Blinky here." Harry was surprised by the man's casual mention of murder, but his attention was drawn to another detail, "Blinky?"

Salazar smiled, "Yes, my pet basilisk. She's a bit small here, but I would expect she's grown a bit since. Say hi Blinky." he prodded the snake sleeping on him. It was only then that Harry recognized it for a (much) smaller version of the basilisk down in the chamber.

 _§Hi.§_ the tiny basilisk hissed.

 _§Hello to you too.§_ Harry hissed back, without even really thinking about it. Faced with two shocked looks he smiled sheepishly.

 _§You can talk!?§_ Salazar hissed in shock.

Harry grinned, _§Well, given that Blinky said I'm your heir, is that really so surprising?§_

Salazar suddenly looked worried. _§Heir? The only heirs I ever had were all...§_

 _§From Myradin's side.§_ Harry quickly clarified, _§He was my mother's ancestor. Beyond that, Tom Riddle killed my parents, so you better believe I want nothing more than to put him down.§_ Harry idly noted that this was by far the longest Parseltongue conversation he has had since starting Hogwarts.

 _§I... Myradin had descendants?§_ Salazar looked positively shocked. _§I never knew. Why... If your mother had been a witch...§_

 _§She was.§_ Harry frowned.

 _§She was?§_ now it was Salazar who frowned, _§And I assume she came to Hogwarts?§_

 _§Yes.§_ Harry had a bad feeling to where this was going.

 _§Then even if she was unable to take the title, she would have been recognized as my descendant.§_ Salazar's frown deepened, _§Who was the headmaster at the time?§_

 _§Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore.§_ Harry could not see the importance.

 _§I see. This might be... problematic.§_ he sighed, _§You said you've talked to Blinky. I assume you will want to enter my chambers?§_

Harry blinked at that, _§Your chambers?§_

 _§Yes. They have a staircase leading directly to the focusing chamber. And, if you are interested in redeeming the name of our family, the things I left there will help.§_

 _§I... Thank you.§_ Harry stood shocked for a moment before Salazar nodded and the whole painting slid to the side, revealing a hidden corridor. Harry looked around before shrugging and entering it, the painting returning to its place behind him.

Neither man nor painting noticed the strand of blonde hair peeking around the nearby corner.

* * *

Harry took almost an hour just looking through the various rooms attached to the hidden corridor. There was a small bedroom, with an attached en-suite, a potions lab that was in desperate need of a cleaning and re-stocking, a storeroom that contained, among other things, several sets of what Blinky said was enchanted armour, an empty dusty room that was identified for Harry as a Ritual Room, a sizeable study with several tomes filled with what seemed to Harry like arithmantic formulae and runic designs (At that point Harry _really_ regretted not taking those two classes) and last but not the least by far, Salazar's personal library.

According to Blinky most of the books in it were written in Parselscript, the written version of Parseltongue, and required being a Parselmouth to read them. Harry took a look at a few of the books, and while he could read them, _understanding_ them was another matter entirely. The library also contained the only other portrait that Salazar could travel to. Finally, after looking at everything there was to see Harry took the stairs down to the Chamber of Secrets, or the Focusing Chamber as Salazar had referred to it.

"So." Harry spoke to the empty room, "You ask me to come down here but when I do, you're not here."

"I am always here." Harry spun to face the source of the voice, "As am I always everywhere else in the castle." Harry froze for a moment, having come face-'face' with... Blinky the Basilisk. Well, the 20-feet-long-ghost-spirit-thing version of her.

"Why did you..?" Harry tried to not insult the millennia-old serpent, but...

"Do you truly think you would have been receptive to me looking like this, yesterday?" the ghostly serpent looked at him with amusement. Harry did not need to answer that, they both knew he would have in all likelihood ran back the way he came if this was who he had met down here. "Anyway... Last night you... passed out before I could explain the full situation concerning you, your mother and one Albus Dumbledore." Blinky coiled on herself until her head rested at eye level to Harry, who had once more sat down on the floor. "Forget all you have heard about the old white-bearded man, for now you shall learn the truth."


	4. Albus

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

[Edited 29:06:2018]

Albus.

* * *

" _Forget all you have heard about the old white-bearded man, for now you shall learn the truth."_

"You have to remember that I have no ability to leave the area covered by the school wards. That being said, for the last forty years Albus Dumbledore has relied on this castle to be his personal stronghold; the one place where he could be himself." Blinky paused, "And that person is far from the kind grandfather image he has cultivated. To put it simply... Albus Dumbledore is a blood supremacist." Harry had a strange feeling of deja-vu as his face once more took on a shocked expression. "He is, obviously, far more covert about it, but no less ruthless or determined than any Dark Lord you know of. In fact... are you aware of a wizard by the name of Gellart Grindelwald?" Harry nodded, it was hard to forget the wizard responsible for World War 2. "And did you know that he and Albus were partners? In their goals as well as bed?"

"Didn't need to know that!" Harry yelled as he tried to purge the image of a naked Dumbledore from his mind.

"No, you did. That detail is important later." Blinky chastised him, "Now let me speak. As I said, Albus and Gellart were partners. They both had the opinion that wizards were inherently better than muggles and deserved to rule over them. The people who know of their association all believe that they parted their ways because Albus didn't agree with his lover's plans." Harry mock-retched, Blinky rolled her eyes.

"They did part their ways because of a difference in opinion. But it was not over what people believe. While both believed that wizards are better than everyone else, Albus insisted that some wizards were better than most. Gellart was of the opinion that any magical human should have equal rights, that are vastly superior to what non-magical humans have and still above magical non-humans. Albus was of the opinion that the oldest wizarding bloodlines deserved to rule over everyone and everything else by default. They had a fight over this and Albus' sister, Arianna, died during it." Harry was caught between shock and sheer disbelief; the man he had looked up to as the paragon of light was actually _worse_ that one of the most hated Dark Lords in world history.

"How do you know all this?" Harry finally asked after several minutes of digesting this information.

Blinky gave him and honest-to-god evil smirk, "I may have been unable to talk to anyone but I could observe. And... if the old fool was stupid enough to place such sensitive memories inside a pensieve, where anyone can see them... well." she chuckled.

"A pensieve?"

"A runic device used to review memories. It can store them indefinitely and some can even project the content of the memories into a floating image anyone can see." the serpent again chuckled in a very human-like manner, "He might have been keeping these particular memories behind several dozen locks and wards but... I _am_ the castle. There is no place within the wards I can't enter."

"Wow." Harry was still a bit overtaken about the truth behind Dumbledore. He had no idea Blinky was just starting.

"So, back to the story." Harry refocused himself, "After the two had parted ways, best I can gather is that Gellart went to Germany and begun to build his power base there." Harry nodded, that matched what he had read, "Albus returned to Hogwarts, this time as a teacher." more nodding.

"What you have to understand is that back at that time, same gender relationships were not merely frowned upon, they were seen as unnatural. So Albus had gotten very good at lying and hiding things about himself. He came to the school and convinced everyone he was here because of his desire and passion to teach. Now, I will not say he was a bad teacher, in fact, if not for his... evil side, I would call him one of the best Transfiguration teachers this school has ever had."

By this point Harry was actually surprised to hear anything good being told about Dumbledore. "Of course, the teaching was ultimately a cover for his true goal here: manipulation of general opinion. Why do you think Dumbledore favours muggleborn so?" Blinky looked at him expectantly.

Harry opened his mouth to answer... and closed it. He sat back and thought about this, Blinky giving him the time to do so. After several minutes of silence Harry had arrived at what he thought was the right answer, or close to it at least.

"It creates resentment." he begun, speaking slowly and considering his own thoughts at the same time, "By letting the purebloods to continue believing in their inherent superiority, yet openly favouring muggleborn, who as a note regularly outperform the purebloods, he causes them to resent the muggleborn. Then, when they grow up they will continue to resent them, but this time many of them have actual power to act on that resentment." Harry looked back down from the dark ceiling where his eyes had wandered as he spoke, "By favouring the muggleborn while in school he is ensuring that once they graduate they will be treated as second if not third class citizens."

"Very good Harry," Blinky spoke in a calm voice, "Ten points to Gryffindor."

* * *

Severus Snape was in a bad mood. Well, a worse one than usual; he had just been informed that he can't give Harry Potter detentions for not attending class because the brat is on a medically sanctioned leave. His mood was not helped by the fact that, just as he was passing it, ten rubies joined the Gryffindor points counter.

* * *

"That is the actual reason?" Harry was surprised, he thought there must be more to it, something he didn't know.

"Most of it." Blinky shifted her coils a bit, "I think he also gets some sort of sick enjoyment out of building up a muggleborn's hopes only to watch them fall apart." For being a Basilisk, Blinky was very good at adding venom to her voice. "There is more you need to know about this, and just how far he has gone, but that can wait. Now I have to talk about a subject I find... difficult. I think you can guess what that is." Harry did.

"I still don't know how far the manipulations went, was he just using an opportunity or did he create it in the first place... At any rate, the super-short version, the core of the matter; Albus Dumbledore created Voldemort." After hearing what he had today, and given what Harry knew about Tom's beliefs, it was not that surprising. "Tom Riddle grew up in a muggle orphanage." Harry's eyes widened at that, he had not known that. "His mother died at childbirth, his father... we'll come back to that. The strange thing is that when Tom came to Hogwarts he was already quite adept at wandless magic. And yet the Ministry of Magic had somehow missed all the times he had used his magic while at the orphanage."

Blinky paused and looked at Harry intently, "Albus would have people think that Tom came to Hogwarts already having developed a like for harming people. I know for a fact that the first time Tom Riddle used magic for anything other than self-defence was at Hogwarts. And the first time he intentionally attacked another person, or being for that matter, with it was then he was defending a muggleborn girl from several bullies."

Harry was left with his jaw hanging, Tom Riddle: Good guy? What? "Yess..." Blinky hissed, "He was actually very much like you; that is why I first thought he might be a descendant of Myradin, he was so different from the Traitor's line." Harry was genuinely terrified hearing this. It is one thing to have a Dark Lord after you; it is so much worse to know that his own life experiences were so similar.

"As his first year approached the end he petitioned to headmaster Dippet to be allowed to stay at Hogwarts for the summer. He was pretty desperate to do it, was willing to work for his keep, help the staff, anything to be allowed to stay." Blinky paused once more, "And there Albus Dumbledore saw an opportunity. You see... Tom Riddle was never supposed to do what he did."

Harry blinked at that, the question of 'What?' once more coming to the front. "Armello Dippet was a pureblood. But he was also old and had already chosen Albus to replace him in a few years. And so, it was at Albus' advice that Tom was denied the option to stay at the castle. Even though one of the core purposes of Hogwarts was to serve as home for people in just that kind of situation."

Harry could not find the words to describe his thoughts. The main, overarching theme of which was that at the end of his first year Harry had made that same petition. And, from the sound of it, the 'home' life of him and Tom was pretty much the same. "I know where your thoughts have gone, and yes, I am afraid that you are Albus' 'try 2'." Blinky looked at Harry not with pity but just pure sadness.

At that point Harry wanted to rage. He wanted to jump up, storm the office of that officious old goat and throw him out the window. Preferably after beating him senseless. After several minutes of pacing back and forth reason won out and Harry sat back down. "Given that I have no intention of dancing to the old bastard's tone, what can I do?" Harry turned back to the surprisingly helpful snake.

"You can listen as I finish telling the story." she responded rather calmly. "Now, as I was saying, Tom was sent back to his... 'home'. He was disappointed, obviously, but it didn't really create any true resentment. He saw it more like a figure of authority being unwilling to bend the rules, rather than a pureblood screwing him over on general principle. A few years later however, there was an attack. I, to my eternal regret, do not know how exactly it happened, but the muggleborn girl Tom had developed a close friendship with was killed. To make matters worse, she was killed by an of-age pureblood. From an old and rich family."

Harry kept paling further and further as his mind re-created the scene with him in the place of Tom and Hermione as the muggleborn. "The father of the pureblood bribed his way through the court and the killer got off with a rather literal slap on the wrist. Despite the fact that there was no question whatsoever that he was the one who killed her." Draco Malfoy had joined the re-creation. Harry knew where this was going. "It wasn't obvious at first, but Tom snapped after that." Harry, for the first time ever, understood the poor guy. It was not a happy thought.

"I didn't find out until years later, but he begun to research dark magic as well as pureblood history. Albus thought that his 'pet project' was coming along nicely. And then Tom discovered the truth. For all his life he had thought that his parents, or mother at the least, were nobodies, unimportant, with no real ancestry to their name." Harry remembered feeling much the same, at least up until that one talk with Sirius.

"He discovered that he was the heir to Salazar, heir to the founder of the house he had been sorted into. He came from one of the most revered bloodlines in the entire magical Britain, and yet the purebloods had treated him like trash. Albus Dumbledore had his resentment." Harry nodded, he had felt the same after Sirius had pointed out that not only were Potters much older than the Malfoy family, they were also several times richer. And, since Sirius could no longer have children _,_ Harry stood to inherit the even older and richer family of Black. And Malfoy, as heir to a pureblood house, would have known that on their first meeting. Well, the Potter part at least. Nobody other than a handful of goblins knew that Harry was Sirius' heir, and aware of it.

"And now we get to the interesting part." Blinky shifted again, gazing at her 'old' body, "He did not, nor do I believe he does now, resent any particular group of magicals." _That_ confused Harry. "Tom Riddle resents the magical world. Albus Dumbledore wanted to create a Dark Lord that would lead a muggleborn uprising, then he would let it simmer and spread, creating more and more resentment and anger, until he would lead the purebloods of Britain to crush the uprising and use the amassed society-level anger to begin part two of his master plan. To turn muggleborns into little more than slaves and begin infiltrating muggle governments." Harry was horrified. "Instead his plan backfired in a truly horrifying manner. Tom Riddle desires only to see the magical world burn." The chamber fell into silence, the only sound being the slow dripping of water into the central pool.

"And D... The old man intends for me to do that instead?" Harry whispered, the terror clear in his voice.

"Yes and no. He plans for you and Tom to kill each other, then for you to be made into a martyr figure to inspire the uprising. Beyond that, no, his plan has not really changed." Blinky spoke with an almost dead emotion-less voice. To her the idea that this one man could end any chance of there ever being another Lord Slytherin was utterly horrifying. She was _born_ to serve their family, what would she be without it?

"Well... Shit." It was quite some time later that Harry finally came to the point where he was ready to move forward. "You mentioned something about how far Albus had gone?" he turned to Blinky, who seemed to have been deep in thought herself.

"What? Oh, yes. The whole thing is actually interlinked and the basis for what I believe would be your best option at striking back." That was enough to intrigue Harry. "How many muggleborn are in your year?"

Harry paused at the seemingly off-the-wall question. Blinky claimed to be aware of nearly everything that happened in the castle. How could she not know?

"Answer: Zero." She answered her own question before Harry could even start counting.

"What? No, no, no. There are several. I mean, Hermione is one..." Thinking of _her_ caused a slight pang of sorrow in his chest.

"And that is just the thing." Blinky seemed to have recovered from her funk, "There are very, _very_ few true muggleborn. Currently there are only five muggleborn in the whole castle, and one of them is a teacher." Harry had a hard time getting his head around that, "The truth is that the vast amount of 'muggleborn' that come to Hogwarts every year actually come from wizarding bloodlines that either are believed extinct, banished the squibs born into them or both."

Hearing the explanation, Harry had to admit that it made a _lot_ of sense. He had always found it weird that magical children can be born to parents with seemingly no magical relation whatsoever. This made sense. "For a matter of perspective, over 2/3 of all magical births in Britain are classed as muggleborn. In reality it is only barely 1%." The sheer number of people that represented was mind-numbing.

"That is the truth about muggleborns. Now we come to what Albus Dumbledore has done to hide this truth. The goblins of Gringotts have a method of determining one's ancestry, including any magical houses they come from and, more importantly, what inheritable titles and vaults they hold." Harry had never heard of something like that. "The pureblood-run ministry, in its quest to hide this information, has not only created a treaty that prevents the goblins from offering this service, only providing it if explicitly asked, but even went so far as to completely ban blood magic, as the Inheritance Ritual is part of it, and also gutted Divination magic, as it could be used to achieve a similar result."

Harry was once more horrified, two whole branches of magic ruined just so the rich and powerful can keep the power? "None of these changes could have been done without Albus Dumbledore supporting them. In fact, Albus was the one to propose the gutting of Divination." One more crime against the magical world, one more strike against Albus Dumbledore. At this point Harry would not be surprised if the goatface was found mind-raping people. Had only he known...

"There is one last thing on this matter. One that is quite personal... for both of us." Salazar had mentioned something about his mother, Harry remembered. Also, if his mum was a descendant of Slytherin, shouldn't she have been able to talk to snakes? "Last night you passed out after I informed you of your mother's, and by extension your, heritage." Harry could swear the snake was holding back laughter. "What I didn't have the chance to tell was why it wasn't discovered."

Blinky turned serious, "During her first years at Hogwarts your mother maintained her friendship with Severus Snape. Yes, they were friends. As much as Snape and your father were foes. Anyway, during their first year Severus somehow managed to always have a steady supply of fresh poisons from various snake species to use in potion making. So did your mother." Harry suddenly remembered the spell that Malfoy had used during that ill-fated Duelling Club meeting. What was it... _Serpensortia_? "Dumbledore investigated and discovered that your mother was using her parselmouth abilities together with the _Serpensortia_ spell to obtain basically unlimited amounts of snake poison. She would summon a snake, then talk with it to coax it to donate it's poison. Before sending it back to wherever it was summoned from she would feed it, as payment for the poison. It was all very... civilized."

Blinky took a moment to reminisce, before continuing, "When I saw what she was doing I was so sure that she could, and more importantly _would_ help me. And then Dumbledore found her in the act. There were about a dozen snakes in the room, most of them still feeding after having given their poison. Lily was sorting the vials, by potency I believe, when Albus entered. She missed him at first, but one of the snakes spotted him and told her. When Albus heard her hissing a thanks to the snake he looked terrified. You see, Parselmouths are still very rare in Europe because the ritual to give a magical that ability comes from India. It wasn't until after the colonial era of the muggle world wound down that any meaningful amount of Parselmouths took residence at the 'old world'." Harry was fascinated to hear the origins of his ability. "Before then the only European wizards with the ability were either descendants of my father, or Dark wizards who took on this ability because of its applications in Dark magic. At the time, to be a British parselmouth was basically equalled with being a descendant of Salazar Slytherin." Harry suddenly realized where this was going.

"Dumbledore casually incinerated the snakes in the room, ignoring the terrified shouts of Lily before turning his wand on her. I am fairly sure you won't be surprised to hear that, despite having made sure it was banned, Dumbledore practises blood magic." Harry wasn't surprised. "He used blood magic to bind Lily's gift, her inheritance, and then erased any memory she had of ever having had it in the first place." Harry was horrified, again, but still wasn't surprised. In his mind Albus Dumbledore was now firmly a Dark Lord.

"A few days later he had to erase a considerable chunk of Severus's memories, causing that poor boy to eventually go dark." Harry blinked, The goat was responsible for Snape? Nope, still not surprised. "About a dozen more minor modifications took place over the school year. After the year ended he followed Lily to her home and erased any memories of her speaking to snakes from her non-magical family. That destroyed the acceptance Petunia Evans had for magic, but not the adoration the Evans parents had for Lily." And he was responsible for Aunt Petunia as well... Harry stared, was there _anything_ crap in his life that Albus Dumbledore was not responsible for? Probably not.

"I personally believe that the reason he hasn't tried the same with you is that your ability was revealed in a very public setting, even he could not _obliviate_ all of them without making mistakes. Although, according to his rants from after _that_ event, he seems to have convinced himself that he had outright removed the ability from Lily and instead of being inherited, your ability comes from the soul shard you have lodged behind your scar."

Okay... _That_ was a surprise.


	5. Magic

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

[Edited 29:06:2018]

Magic.

* * *

 _He seems to have convinced himself that your ability comes from the soul shard you have lodged behind your scar."_

On some level Harry was not truly surprised about this latest revelation. He had, after all, known for years that he and Vol... Tom, Harry corrected himself, shared a connection. That connection had obviously been centred around his scar, causing him pain whenever he was around Tom and just this summer he had had those dream-visions. Still, learning that instead of there being a 'mere' magical link of some kind, he actually had a _PIECE OF THE BASTARD'S SOUL STUCK IN HIM,_ was... worrying. "Dumbledore knew, didn't he?" Harry turned to his companion, who had remained silent as he processed this.

"He knew that there was Dark magic rooted in your scar the night he left you with your relatives. He didn't know what kind of magic it was until you brought the destroyed Horcrux to him. He guessed, but he didn't _know_."

"The what? You mean the diary?"

"Yes." Blinky nodded, "Back in the day it was a semi-common practice among many wizards and witches of... less than Light mindset, not necessarily Evil mind you, to create these 'soul anchors'. There are several different ways to make one, the easiest one of whom, the one I believe Tom has been using, uses the murder of a true innocent to fuel the ritual." Harry didn't need to think for long to understand what 'true innocent' meant. "The problem with that ritual is that doing it more than once can, and usually does, cause permanent damage to ones soul. There are other rituals, still rather Dark but hardly as evil, that can do the same thing. And if you want to get extremely technical, you could say that the castle of Hogwarts is _my_ Horcrux."

The longer Harry thought about this, the calmer he became. If, as Blinky said, this was a rather common practice at one time, there should be plenty of information on them, right? "Can I get the thing out of me?" Harry finally voiced his most important question. At the back of his mind he considered if he should look into making one of those himself. He could never bring himself to harm an infant, but if there were other ways...

"Obviously." Blinky sniffed, "Many times priceless artefacts have been used as the focuses of these anchors. A few people have even been crazy enough to use living things. It is quite easy to remove them, but..." here the serpent shifted, obviously uncomfortable about something.

"But what?"

"But Dumbledore has not spent even a full day studying Soul Magic, he has no idea what they actually are, how they can be used and most of all, how they can be safely destroyed. He has convinced himself that the only way to do it is to destroy the container." Harry gasped as he understood the implication, "That would work, but is by far the most dangerous option. Beyond losing the host object, there is the very real possibility that any person near the anchor can become possessed by the soul fragment when it is released. You were extremely lucky it didn't happen when you stabbed the diary." Harry paled in shock, if after all that Tom had still managed to come back...

"There are several books in Salazar's library that are about this particular topic. They also contain rituals both to create and destroy soul anchors. I must note that that it is perfectly possible, and safe, to reabsorb an anchor you have created. Most who made them used them to avoid death in battle or by accident, not as a try for immortality. In fact, they are incapable of granting true immortality; the magic powering them would eventually run out and the soul fragment dissipate." Harry made a mental note to check out those books. If this was as advertised... well, he _did_ have a murdering psychopath after him.

"Has Dumbledore made an anchor?" Harry was struck by the thought.

"I don't know. If he has, he hasn't mentioned it in any way and it has never been near this castle. I would know otherwise." Harry nodded at that. It was a concern, but not right now.

Harry was about to ask if there was anything else she wanted to talk about when his stomach growled quite loudly. He blushed as he remembered his half-eaten Lunch. He still had a hard time accepting that Hermione didn't even talk to him. "Sorry, I barely got anything for lunch."

"Oh, that's fine. I'm sure your elf can get you something." If Blinky had arms in this form she would have waved one of them in dismissal.

"My elf?" Harry frowned. He was fairly sure he didn't have a house elf.

"Oh yes, energetic little thing. Totally devoted too. Popped in here last night and started yelling at me for hurting, and I quote, 'Great Wizard Master Harry Potter Sir'." she was positively smirking.

Harry couldn't help but groan, _of course_ it's... "Dobby!"

With a pop the hyper-active hose elf appeared. Harry had a sneaking suspicion he had already been waiting to be called on. "Great Wizard Master Harry Potter Sir calls Dobby?" the two golf-ball sized eyes were focused entirely on Harry. It was slightly disconcerting.

"Dobby," Harry sighed, "Why is Blinky here telling me you are my elf."

The change was near-instant. The eagerness and excitement was replaced by shyness and... fear? "Uhh..." Dobby suddenly found the floor very interesting.

"Harry?" he turned to Blinky.

"Yes?"

"What do you know about the history of House Elves?" At his blank look Blinky shook her head in amusement before explaining yet another thing, "House elves were created several centuries ago, by a group of Light wizards who sought to end the practice of slavery." Harry was a bit confused by that, they wanted to stop slavery by making a slave race? "Before that time many Light and Grey wizards used paid servants while the Dark practitioners tended to use enslavement spells. Both groups would generally use squibs or non-magicals in those positions. However, as the separation between magical and mundane world increased, more and more Dark and even some Grey magicals would begin to enslave weaker magicals to serve them." While certainly unpleasant, it was not something Harry was surprised by.

"A group of Light wizards was concerned about the increasing spread of this, even some light wizards had begun to employ other magicals as servants, paying them wages for it, but still... These wizards were worried that not only would their society segregate to a large degree, but it might very well cause a decay in the magical power of everyone. Some would never push their powers while some would hardly ever use them; everyone loses." Harry nodded at that, he could certainly understand the idea.

"They came up with a solution. A race of magical constructs, capable of using magic but with a built-in servant bond ensuring their loyalty. No-one knows where the name hose-elf came from, but their creation was a success and the name stuck. Within a decade there were no human slaves anywhere in the magical world. This was centuries before slavery was made illegal in the mundane world." Harry was a bit surprised by that, magicals being progressive? "It didn't solve the problem that was the reason for their creation, only delayed it. But the important thing you need to know, is that no house elf can harm a wizard unless it's defending its master."

Harry was about to argue that Dobby had harmed him and Lucius Malfoy, but then stopped. During his second year, it _could_ be argued that trying to harm Harry was Dobby defending his master. Even if the real motive for doing it was very far from that. But then, when Harry tricked old Lucy to free Dobby, the little elf had... "Dobby, how were you able to attack your former master after I freed you?"

Dobby shuffled on his feet before starting to talk, "Dobby saw bad-old Master try to hit Great Harry Potter with the green spell. Dobby had seen what it does, Dobby wanted to help Great Harry Potter... Dobby bonded himself to Great Wizard Harry Potter to stop bad-old Master from hitting Great Wizard Master Harry Potter with the green spell."

After Harry had translated what he had heard, he took a moment to swallow the bile. As far as he knew, Death Eaters didn't take their house elves along on raids. "Dobby... I am grateful that you saved me that day; I was barely holding upright as it was. That being said, you should have told me this afterwards." Seeing Dobby about to start hitting his head he shouted, "No! I don't care what Ponce of Ponce junior have told you, you will NOT punish yourself. If you think you have done something wrong, you will tell me and I will decide on it. Clear?" he spoke with a voice he didn't know he possessed.

"Yes Great Master Wizard Harry Potter Sir." Dobby squeaked.

Harry sighed as he put his hand to his forehead, "Harry, Dobby, call me Harry."

"Very well, Master Harry Sir." Harry sighed in resignment.

"If you two are quite done, Dobby, your master had to cut his lunch short, can you..." Blinky had not finished speaking when the eager elf popped away, only to return moments later with a small table covered with food. "Ah."

"Thank you Dobby." Harry moved to the table to eat. "By the way, you said your old master had used the... green spell before."

"Yes. Dobby can't speak why or where or on whom." the small elf pulled on his ears, "Dobby is very sorry."

"Can you tell me when?" Harry asked between bites.

After a small pause Dobby nodded, "That Dobby can. Last time Dobby saw was a week before yous freed Dobby."

Harry almost choked when he heard that. Lucius Malfoy had used the killing curse on someone not two years ago? "Was that the only time?" Dobby shook his head, "How many times has he done it..."

"One a month... usually. Dobby had to..." the small elf seemed to choke on his own words.

Harry was shocked. He could fill in the blanks, and the picture was _ugly_. With a wave he indicated Dobby to stop struggling against his own magic and started to pace. "One a month. That bastard, and I have no doubt he isn't the only one, has been going around kidnapping and killing people all this time. They probably barely even paused after Tom got himself blown up. Those monsters are walking around, pretending to be people, while my Godfather has to be a prisoner in his own house to not be killed by that greedy idiot Fudge!" Harry didn't notice that as he continued to rant there was a palpable static charge building in the air around him, or that Dobby had started to cower under the magical build-up.

"Harry." he completely ignored the spirit-snake. "Harry!" she tried again, much louder. "Harry, you need to calm down!" she finally slithered right into his path, gazing into his eyes with her own.

"Calm down? Why the hell should I..." he was distracted from his anger when Dobby cried out as he dove away from a lightning bolt emerging from one of the metallic objects on the table.

"That's why." Blinky spoke with a surprisingly calm voice.

"What the..." Harry finally noticed the static sparks jumping around anything remotely metallic in the chamber.

"This is what I was worried about." Blinky sighed. "You will need to learn how to control your emotions better."

"What?"

"After what happened yesterday you have developed a... connection of sorts with Wild Magic."

Harry felt his anger slowly seeping away, it was not like he would be in a position to do anything about the mess with 'former' Death Eaters until his 17th birthday anyway. "Wild Magic?" he moved back to the table, he was still hungry.

"Yes. I'm not surprised you don't know of the distinction, it's a bit of a lost knowledge situation. What you call 'magic' is made up of two different parts." Harry settled himself down for what seemed to be another lecture. "The 'wizarding' magic and Wild magic. Putting it simply, wizarding magic is what wizards and witches use, wild magic is everything else. Of course, it is nowhere near that simple. A wizard's magic comes from their soul. Literally, it is a... mutation, you could call it, of an ordinary human soul. It's more complicated than that and the origins of the whole thing go back to High Elves of Atlantis, but none of that really matters to the here and now. The point is, the stronger a soul, the stronger the magic it can hold. There are different ways that strength can manifest; there are wizards with incredibly large reserves, that take forever to recuperate, just as there are wizards with very small ones that recover at no time at all. Everyone falls somewhere on that scale, and yes, it is an actual scale. The discussion on what is better has been going on for forever and is unlikely to stop any time soon. Good so far?" Harry nodded, this was not unlike what professor Flitwick had told them back at first year.

"Alright. Wild magic is... well, magic. It is everywhere, flowing across the world in vast river-like formations you wizards call ley-lines. And, despite the name, Wild magic has nothing to do with the wilds or nature; some of the largest concentrations of it are actually at the middle of what are now major cities. London, Paris, supposedly the New York is on top of the second largest lay-line convergence in the world." While that was an interesting bit of trivia, Harry failed to see what it had to do with him.

"The single biggest difference between the way wizarding magic and wild magic is used is that a wizard can only use the magic he has within him. A being using wild magic is not limited by that, a Dragon, for example, does not have enough magic in its body to fly much less breathe fire. It can still do both, even at the same time. That is because all wild magic is connected, and any being that uses it can freely draw more of it from the environment, without actually causing any impact to the environment as more magic flows in to replace that what was taken. And any act of _using_ wild magic returns in back into the circulation. It is indestructible, always changing, yes, ever destroyed, no." Harry started to have an idea what Blinky was talking about. She _had_ mentioned something about wild magic in him.

"Under normal circumstances someone using wizarding magic can't ever use wild magic, nor can someone not born with it develop the ability to use wizarding magic. You... are not normal circumstances." Blinky sighed. "When you were bitten in your second year, the poison was inactive. It would have still killed you, yes, but the magical component was dormant. It was then mixed with the healing energies of phoenix tears. The wild-magic-infused phoenix tears. That activated the magical component of my poison, but... it did... _something_." Harry was both worried and confused, not a good combination.

"The poison entered some kind of... symbiosis with the tears and, for lack of a better term, infused your body with wild magic. Had that been it, not that big of an issue. It gave you a slight healing factor, on top of what normal wizards have, maybe slightly reduce your recuperation time, but nothing overly notable. Before you ask, this comes from my observation over your third year. But yesterday... When you passed out, I felt the small amount of wild magic in you call out, try to draw in more of it to help you recover. It had done that every time since the event that put it there. But this time, instead of being in the castle proper, where the wild magic is rather dispersed, you were here." Blinky sighed.

"This chamber lies in the middle of a massive array designed to focus and direct the mass of wild magic emerging from the ley-lines below into the ward-stone of Hogwarts. Less than a third of the magic focused actually goes into the wards, but that is still several magnitudes more than what would otherwise. And it was that immense focused mass of wild magic that tried to flood your body when the part in you called out." Harry had lost control over his lower jaw somewhere around the middle of that explanation. He still did not have it back. "The magic reacted in a truly bizarre way that I have never even thought possible. Instead of trying to usurp your wizarding magic, which might have killed you, it... seems to have fused with it. There is a sizeable amount of wild magic in your body right now, far, _far_ more than there was before."

"Madam Pomfrey said I had more power than before..." Harry had finally regained control of his jaw.

"Poppy? Good woman, another victim of Albus, but knows her stuff. That said, wizarding magic is quite bad at reading wild magic. If my suspicions are correct, you might be able to draw on wild magic to fuel your wizarding spells. To a wizarding spell it would look like your magic dropped to a set level and no less. In reality that would be you using up your wizarding magic reserves and then drawing in wild magic." Blinky waved her head around, "Of course, at this point this is just a theory. We would need to test this to get any factual details."

"Test this?"

"Yes. How powerful your spells are, how good you are at maintaining them, can you use wild magic itself or is it just a support to your wizarding one..."

"Well, I was told to test my new power levels." Harry smirked as he got up, "So... healer's orders and all that. Where do we start?"

* * *

 _ **A/N**_ The gears of Plot, they be turning. Also, writing Dobby-speech is _hard_.

Next time: More changes and The First Task!


	6. Beginning

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

[Edited 29:06:2018]

Beginning.

* * *

Harry returned to the common room only shortly before curfew, fearing, yet also hoping, that he was about to get yelled at by Hermione for worrying her. To his great relief and disappointment, she was nowhere to be seen. Entering his dorm he saw that Ron's bed had its curtains closed and the familiar snore was emerging from behind them. Harry did not bother to hide his hurt.

As he underwent his usual evening ritual his thoughts were brought back to what had they had discovered about his magic. He didn't seem to have a limit to it. According to Blinky, after holding an _Incendio_ for over ten minutes any wizard would at least feel drained, Harry wasn't even winded. He had tried dozens of spells. The cleaning charm he had overpowered as much as he could somehow cleared the entire chamber and most of the tunnels outside it. Dobby seemed dismayed until Harry informed him that Salazar's private chambers needed a good cleaning. It was when Harry witnessed the sheer joy that filled the little guy's face upon seeing the nightmarish mess inside the Potions lab that he knew he would never understand house elves.

The only truly bad thing that came from the tests was when Harry discovered he could no longer manage a corporeal Patronus. It wasn't until Blinky convinced him that he wasn't going evil, as all the memories he had been using contained Hermione and her abandonment of him had tainted them, that Harry was able to calm himself.

Oh, and after reading some of the 'simple' books of Salazar's library Harry had come to the decision to throw out the whole light-dark way of thinking. The fact he had found a way to create a soul anchor that he was okay with using may have helped with that one.

Despite his turbulent mind Harry was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

The next morning Harry was, as usual, first one awake. After a quick shower he found his clothes for the day already set on on his neatly ordered bed. Harry merely shook his head in amusement before getting dressed. After thinking about it for a bit he grabbed both his cloak and the map, just in case. Coming down to the common room Harry decided to wait until Hermione came down, hoping to talk to her about the mess he found himself in. A little while later he saw her come down from the girls dormitories and, without even glancing at the room, walk out of Gryffindor tower. Harry felt disappointment and even some resentment swell up in him. Shaking those feeling away he got up and left for the breakfast himself.

He did not exchange more that two words with Hermione that whole day.

After classes had ended Blinky guided Harry to another entrance into the tunnel network beneath Hogwarts and Harry spent the rest of the day either reading from Salazar's library or practising his meditation. Apparently that was an important part in learning mind arts, a specialized branch of magic Harry needed to learn to master his emotions.

For the next week and a half that became Harry's routine: after classes, where he would not get more than a glance from Hermione, he would spend the rest of the day either in Sal's (as he insisted to be called) chambers learning from the library, that Dobby was busy updating, or down in the chamber, mastering his 'new' magic. He had discovered that with enough understanding he could mimic certain abilities of magical beings. He could not do anything that needed specialized body parts, but anything that was powered purely by magic seemed to be fair game for Harry to learn.

It was five days to the First task that Blinky interrupted Harry's training (he was using Wild magic to replace the destroyed braziers in the chamber) with an angry rant, her spectral form emerging from one of the walls.

"... trying to kill! I knew he was arrogant but this just... Harry! Stop toying around and get to fixing my body so I can eat that old goat." she continued to rant as Harry slowly lowered the half-formed brazier and turned to her.

"Alright, what did he do now?"

"Dragons! That idiot brought actual dragons to be part of the task!"

Harry was worried, after all he had learned about wild magic he knew that in a place as rich in it as Hogwarts, any magic using it would be far more powerful than usual. And dragons... they quite literally breathe wild magic. This was bad. "Are you sure they are here for the task?" Maybe...?

"Yes. The wizards who brought them here even complained about having to get a fourth one on such a short notice. They are all nesting mothers; the wizards brought their eggs along."

Harry did not need long to figure out what the challenge was most likely to be. Recover something from the nest of a nesting mother dragon. At Hogwarts. There really was only one thing to say. "Well, shit."

For the next five days Harry focused entirely on mastering one of the spells in one book from what he had begun to consider 'his' library. Sal did not object. The only exception to that was sending three notes, via Dobby, to the other champions, to let them know of what they were to face.

Harry Potter was not seen for five days, having spent the entire time in the by now refurbished Slytherin's chambers. The only ones who knew where he was were Dobby, who delivered his meals and made sure he ate them, and Blinky, who made sure he got sufficient amount of sleep; neither of whom would have ever betrayed his trust even if they were able to. Out in the castle the staff were growing worried as his absence was noticed. The only relief was Albus informing everyone that Harry was still in the castle. The official word was that he had taken time off to focus on his tournament preparations. Ironically, it was completely true.

* * *

The day of the first task had finally come. It was a warm and sunny autumn day, seemingly intending to spite the grim mood of the three champions of the Tri-wizard tournament. They had already gathered at the tent by the Quiddich-field-turned-arena. They were still waiting for the youngest of their number, the fourth champion, Harry Potter. No-one had seen him for over five days now, and while the 'official word' claimed he was busy preparing, there were those, particularly in the Slytherin house, who claimed he had ran away. Fleur, Cedric and Victor knew better though.

They had each been delivered a hand-written note from the boy, warning them that the first task would be to recover something from the nest of a mother dragon. They hadn't believed the notes at first, but then both Fleur and Victor got a warning from their respective headmasters that dragons were involved in the second task. After that all three decided to take the contents of the notes seriously. They had been also warned that the dragons would possibly be quite a bit more powerful than normal, something about the amount of magic around Hogwarts.

The three had spent the last four days preparing, but there was only so much they could do. The knowledge of the danger they were about to face only increased their anxiety. Finally, the flap of the tent moved to the side and Harry Potter entered. All three champions were taken aback at how he looked.

Victor was surprised at the confident gait, calm face and relaxed posture the boy before him had. Victor had several years of learning above the kid and he was still worried, Potter however seemed...confident. It was like Potter believed the beast he was about to face was no threat to him. Victor didn't know if it was arrogance or stupidity that made the kid act like that.

Cedric had never spent that much time paying attention to Harry Potter, being quite a few years above him. Still, he had seen plenty of the shy, slim boy dressed in overly-large clothes and wearing those ancient glasses. _This_ Harry Potter was far from the boy he had seen just last week. He was dressed in dark, fitting clothes of what looked like dragon-hide, he carried himself with certainty and had that air around him that seemed to say 'I know something you don't'. Cedric wasn't sure what to think about the 'new' Harry Potter.

Fleur was shocked. Before her stood the same person she had called a 'leetle boy' just a few weeks back. It _was_ the same person, her Veela part was certain of it, and yet... The boy standing before her was actually taller than her, when before he was quite a bit shorter. He was missing his glasses, exposing those almost glowing emerald eyes to the world. And, worst of all, he was nearly radiating power. Fleur had to use every gram of her occlumency and willpower to not jump him then and there.

"Ahh, mister Potter! Time for a few words?" the journalist covering the tournament, Rita Skeeter, almost teleported on top of Harry.

"No." he cut her off before she could even activate her poison-green magical quill.

"I'm sorry?" The intrusive woman stumbled over her words in shock.

"No, I don't have the time. Please leave." Harry calmly answered her before turning his back. "And before you get any ideas... I _know_." Harry emphasised the last word. The other three champions wondered at what did Harry 'know', as the obnoxious woman paled before nearly fleeing the tent. "Sorry for that, she has been trying to find me all week." Harry turned to the three with a smile. "I hope you did take my warning to heart?"

"Yeah." Cedric sighed, "Don't know how much it will help. Maybe I should have done the same thing you did, just focus on preparing for the task."

Harry shrugged, "Well, you do have three full years on me. That has to count for something."

"Hopefully." Victor grunted.

At that point Ludo Bagman entered the tent. He seemed about to speak when he noticed Harry. "Mr Potter! We could not find you for the wand-weighting ceremony, why didn't you..."

"Sorry for that. I had instructed my house elf that I was not to be disturbed unless it was of utmost importance. Evidently he thought that a media circus wasn't important enough compared to my continued survival." Harry spoke with a small smirk that told all and sundry he was not sorry at all.

"Yes, well... Uhh." the portly man seemed utterly confused.

"The task?" Harry helpfully reminded him.

"What? Right, the task! Your task will be to recover something guarded by the bigger version of what you pull from this bag," He presented the black cloth bag to Fleur, "Ladies first."

In short order all four had drawn what dragon they were to face; Fleur had the Norwegian Ridgeback, Cedric the Welsh green, Victor the Chinese Fireball and finally Harry with the Hungarian Horntail. The order by what they were to go was Cedric-Victor-Fleur-Harry. After Ludo had left, after telling Cedric that he was to enter the arena at the signal, everyone except Harry started to pace around the tent. Harry merely closed his eyes and begun his meditative exercises.

"Aren't you worried?" Cedric had stopped and looked at Harry, who had slowed his breathing to the point one might think he was asleep.

"Not really. I believe I have prepared adequately. And even then, being worried now will only harm my chances." The other two had stopped to listen to him. "I would much rather go over what I know of the dragon I am to face than worry about things I can't change."

"Really?" Fleur was intrigued.

"Yes. For example," Harry opened his eyes and all three gasped at the slight glow emanating from them, "The Welsh Green is known to find sheep incredibly appetising. There are many known cases of them abandoning their chase of humans when encountering even a single sheep." Cedric widened his eyes in shock, how could Harry know what he had planned. Harry meanwhile turned to Victor. "The Fireball is incapable of flight, but it offsets this by being almost inescapable on the ground, having vastly superior senses and a particularly long-range, if infrequent, attacks instead of a continuous breath." Victor remembered that particular note on this dragon and decided to change his plan then and there. "And the Ridgeback..." Harry smirked at Fleur, "is known to snore." Fleur, like other two, was surprised that Harry seemed to know what her plan was. Still, it was a good thing to remember.

"What about you?" Cedric asked.

"The Hungarian Horntail. One of the hottest fire breaths there is, claws sharp enough to cut steel, a horn-covered tail, obviously, with each one covered in a highly lethal poison. Oh and a temper worse than all those things taken together. Also extremely territorial and relentless; many of them have fought to the death rather than admit defeat. Generally engaging a grown Horntail with anything less than a full squad of trained battlemages is considered equivalent to suicide." Harry never broke his calm voice even as the other three paled more and more. By the time Harry ended each of them had decided that they would rather face the other three dragons together than try to get past the Horntail.

"Vat... What will you do." Victor tried to gather his wits.

"Beat it into submission." Harry merely smiled before returning to his meditation.

The boy was insane, Victor decided. The enormity of the task before him must have snapped his sanity. That was the only explanation for his suicidal plan. At that point Cedric was called into the arena and the Tri-wizard tournament officially begun.

* * *

"And here we have our first champion, Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts!" Bagman's _Sonorus_ amplified voice was drowned out by the cheer that came from the stands. Even the Slytherins were cheering. After all, Cedric was a 'puff, not a dumb Gryffindor like Potter. The Gryffindors themselves gave a polite cheer, mostly because they hadn't seen that much of their own champion after the selection and none at all for the last week. "And there he goes. Using transfiguration to create a... Sheep?" Bagman sounded confused. A few moments later the green dragon noticed the wool-covered animal and seemed to almost forget that she was guarding her eggs. By the time the dragon was done chasing and devouring the sheep, Cedric had recovered the golden egg and was already safe behind the protective barrier. The Hufflepuff crowd went wild. Cedric grinned, while also making a note to thank Pott... Harry after this.

About ten minutes later Cedric had received his points (Full marks from all but Karkaroff), escaped the clutches of Madam Pomfrey (I didn't get hurt! Really!), and had taken a seat at the area designated to allow champions done with their task to observe the others doing theirs. He watched Victor enter the arena and summon his broom. Given the disapproving look that earned from his headmaster, this was evidently not what he had planned before. Cedric allowed himself as small smile as Victor mounted his broom to wild cheers from the crowd. Seems he wasn't the only one to change his plans because of Harry's last moment advice.

It turned out that Harry's advice to Victor was as good as that given to him, as the Bulgarian star seeker evaded the fireballs sent up by the ground-locked dragon without any seeming effort, all the while pulling daring stunts and slowly drawing it away from the nest. Then, once the dragon was on the wrong side of the arena he dashed back and performed his signature move, only this time he also grabbed the golden egg from the nest, without even touching the others. The crowd went wild once more.

After Victor had left the tent Fleur resumed pacing. This time however it was not because she was worried about the dragon, no... here she was, in a tent with a boy that her Veela side all but worshipped, alone, with lots of noise outside... Fleur tried to shake that though away.

"I will admit that you are beautiful." Harry's voice startled her, "But I would appreciate if you would cut back on the magic. I can be a bit... distracting." his voice was completely calm. Fleur blushed and focused on controlling her allure, only to discover, to her shock, that it had been going out at full blast. She had been putting out enough allure to lobotomise most men, and this boy called it _distracting_! Before she could do anything else both of them heard her name being called. "Good luck." Harry's completely calm voice was the last thing she heard before being engulfed by the light and sounds of the arena.

Fleur saw her target and decided to not waste any time. Empowering her spell with her allure she fired the strongest sleeping spell she could manage. It would have worked even under normal circumstances, but with her Veela part already excited by her encounter with Harry Potter, the spell pretty much caused the dragon to drop like a rock, asleep before it even hit the ground. Smiling in amusement Fleur moved to recover the egg, when she remembered Harry's warning about snoring. Due to that she opted to go around the other side of the dragon. It turned out to be the right choice as a few moments later the sleeping dragon snored and launched a small burst of fire, right where she would have been at. She quickly recovered her egg and moved to leave the arena.

The dragon didn't wake up when the keepers moved to replace the chains for transport. In fact, it continued to sleep until well after the keepers and their dragons had returned to the reserve, several days later.

After Fleur had joined the other two champions they bore witness to the single largest and meanest thing they had ever seen being brought into the arena. The Horntail was positively covered in chains, and every time it moved to break out of them they audibly groaned under the stress. The three 7-th years exchanged a horrified look, Harry had to face _that_?

Finally, after the dragon and her eggs were in position the keepers retreated and one of them fired a _Finite_ at the chains holding the dragon. The mountain of muscle, fire and rage tore the steel chains apart like they were nothing and roared in a seeming challenge to Gods themselves. Cedric was sure more than a few people in the stands just pissed themselves. And they were protected by the best defences money could buy! Finally Ludo Bagman called out for Harry to enter the arena, his voice still shaky with fear.

After a half-minute of silence, well if one didn't count the rather loud dragon, Harry was still nowhere to be seen. As murmuring and some laughter begun to emerge among the crowd, the Horntail seemingly locked onto something and, with a roar, unleashed its fire. That alone quieted the crowd, as many came to the conclusion that Harry must have used a disillusionment charm of some kind, but when the dragon's head was kicked to the side by what seemed like a spell before more than a single gust of fire could pass its jaws, the crowd gasped. They gasped again as Harry let the invisibility spell dissipate and instead focused entirely on the beast before him. He used his wand as a directing tool to guide the wild magic he had gathered into an invisible ball of force. With a sharp wave of his wand he sent it back at the dragon.

The crowd, the champions and the judges watched in awe as Harry Potter took on the most fearsome dragon in the world by himself. And was winning. Most gasped as the second impact visibly staggered the giant dragon, then the third and fourth forced it to fall back. Some screamed in terror as the dragon swung its namesake tail towards Harry, only for some to faint when it was deflected by another impact strong enough to outright shatter some of the bony protrusions on it. The roar that spoke more of pain than rage was surprising but seemed to only encourage Harry, as more and more hits made themselves known upon the massive body of the dragon.

Albus watched his experiment fight with apt fascination. When Poppy had told him that Harry had received a power boost from the goblet he had been worried for what that would mean for his plans. He needed the boy to be strong enough to weaken Tom, yes, but if he was too powerful, gods forbid, powerful enough to actually defeat him, that would be... problematic. The sheep would hail him as a hero, no matter what they said about him before that. Then again... the boy did have a selfless streak a mile wide. If, after he 'killed' Tom, Albus was to inform him that the only way for Tom to stay dead was for Harry to die as well... Why the noble fool would probably demand he kills him on the spot. Yes, yes... the noble martyr and the sorrowful mentor. He could work with that.

Victor could not believe what he was seeing. When Harry had told them he was going to 'beat it into submission' he had thought the boy had gone insane. But here he was, facing a beast that would cause many a grown wizard to turn and run, beating it into submission. Victor didn't know what to think, but there was one thing he was certain of; he did not want to end up at the business end of a wand held by that wizard.

Fleur was doing her best to maintain her dignity. It was not easy and she knew for a fact that the moment she could, she would run back to her room in the carriage to have some... relief. Watching this boy... no, this man, utterly dominate the monstrous beast before him caused her to want to scream. In the good way, the best way. She was glad that nobody had noticed her predicament as she was sure her shallow panting and flushed face were a dead giveaway. As another wave of magic flowed over her she fisted her hands before they could start to wander.

Harry was focused entirely on the creature before him. He had successfully put it on the back foot as it were, and had not stopped to let up the advantage he now held. He was also aware that he was about to start drawing on wild magic to maintain his control over the spell. He needed to end this soon. With a focused repeated strike he dislodged one of the dragon's wings, causing it to once more roar in pain. The arena was silent as Harry paused in his until-now relentless attack. "Had enough?!" he shouted across the silence. The dragon glared at him with the anger that had been there the whole time but also... fear. Even more telling was the fact that it did not move to attack or do anything actually, it just glared at him. Harry smirked as he begun to walk for the first time since his invisibility spell ended. He kept his eyes and wand trained on the dragon as he walked over to her nest and picked up the golden egg with his left hand. When he was half-way back he actually turned his back and lowered his wand. He was still holding the spell and was ready to strike, of course.

The crowd sat in silent awe as Harry Potter turned his back to a dragon he had defeated so completely it didn't dare to try attack him as he robbed her nest. Harry was about to cross the protective barrier when he looked back and, after a moment of consideration, infused the mass of wild magic with healing intent and sent it right at the dragon. Then he turned and walked away. The crowd was so focused on the dragon being healed from all the damage Harry's beat-down had inflicted on it, and of Harry calmly walking away after doing the impossible, that nobody noticed the slight edge of emerald momentarily appearing in the dragon's orange eyes.


	7. Unforgivable

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.] The earlier chapters have been updated to (hopefully) improve readability and cure the wall-of-text-itis. Feedback on the edits would be much appreciated.

On with the story!

Unforgivable.

* * *

As Harry walked to the medical tent to be 'looked over' by madam Pomfrey (and probably shock her by being completely fine), he presented an image of complete calm. In his mind however he was furiously thinking over the potential consequences of what his performance would cause. The most important of whom... _'Blinky.'_

 _'Yes?'_

 _'What's going on at goat pen?'_

Harry heard the snort at the name he had chosen for the Judges area, _'So far so good. Old White looked worried for a moment but seems to have relaxed for now. I do believe he is adjusting his plans right now.'_

 _'That's good. If we can pull this off and have him to adjust his plans to let me win against Tom, it would give us a lot more space to work with.'_

 _'That is still a big if.'_

 _'True.'_ Any further conversation was put on hold as Harry entered the medical tent and was beset by a madam Pomfrey that seemed unwilling to believe he could have gone through a life-threatening situation without any injuries. By the time she had finished questioning him, casting spells on him, and plain old prodding him, they were joined by Cedric and Victor.

"Harry?" Cedric looked between him and the school healer in confusion.

"Oh, don't worry about it." Harry grinned, "She just wanted to find some reason for me to spend even more time under her gentle care." Harry leaned towards the two other boys, "I think she misses me." he stage-whispered.

The two barely contained their smiles as the healer huffed and turned to leave. "It is only a matter of time, mr Potter."

"So?" Harry turned back to his two fellow champions after Pomfrey had left.

"Well, I..." Cedric cleared his throat, "I wanted to say thank you. For the help you gave me. And not just at the tent, if you hadn't sent us those notes I probably would have found out what we were to do only once the task begun."

"So did I." Victor joined in, "My headmaster vanted me to beat my dragon in magical combat. Very bad idea against the one I faced. So... Thank you."

Harry merely smiled, "Well, I did not want anyone to have an unfair advantage. Besides, after I figured out what the task was to be I couldn't, in good conscience, leave you in the dark, so to say." he shrugged. "By the way, where's Fleur?"

"Oh, she said she had something she needed to take care of." Cedric shrugged. "Girl stuff I guess. Anyway, how did you do it?"

"Do what?" Harry frowned. He had a safe way to not reveal how he completed the task, but...

"Hov did you learn what the task vas to be?" Victor looked at him.

"That is something we would like to know as well, Harry." two of the boys were startled by Dumbledore's voice. Harry acted it, but had actually known when the old man entered with the judges.

"Really?" Harry looked around the tent, noting that literally everyone was nodding. "Wow... I thought some of you would have guessed this already."

"Guessed what, Harry?" Dumbledore gave his very best kind grandfather impression.

"You could see the damn things from the top of the astronomy tower. Beyond that, even without any Quiddich this year, something I'm still unhappy about," Cedric grunted his agreement at that, "did you really think that nobody would go for a flight, to clear their head, or just for fun?" the uncomfortable looks going around told the answer,

"So how did I figure what the task was? Oh I don't know... A few days before the first task of the Tri-wizard tournament, a task that historically has involved recovering something guarded by a dangerous creature, four nesting dragons with their egg clutches are brought to Hogwarts. Either our school was about to start a highly illegal dragon breeding program, or they were here for the task. You tell me what is more likely."

"Ah..." The embarrassment on the faces of everyone involved in organizing the task was quite amusing.

"What spells did you use? They were obviously not part of the Hogwarts curriculum! I demand you turn over whatever source you got them from to the ministry immediately." A toad-looking woman dressed entirely in pink had entered the tent next to the minister and almost charged towards Harry.

"That will not be happening miss..." Harry turned to the... person with the worst fashion sense he had ever seen. And he knew Dumbledore.

"Umbridge. Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge. And you will turn that information over to the ministry or I will have you arrested for using Dark magic." Everyone else was looking at the woman-shaped toad in shock.

Harry smirked, and spoke the two words that he knew would kill this line of thought dead. "Family. Magic." The... _woman_ blinked back in confusion. "The spell I used was developed by one of my ancestors specifically for the purpose of subduing dragons. By your own laws, it is my family's personal magic and you can not force me to hand it over without a Wizengamot majority approved decree. Good luck with that." Harry smirked as the... thing before him paled and moved its jaw without any sound coming out. Everyone present had enough understanding of the Wizengamot to know that Family Magic was probably the only thing that they had a unanimous opinion of. Family magic stays in the family.

Harry left the tent, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of a certain bushy haired brunette, but there was no sign of Hermione. On the other hand, he did notice a rather familiar duo standing a fair distance from the stands.

"Moony!" Harry smiled as he ran up to his favourite Uncle (honorary).

"Harry." the werewolf gave him a disapproving look. "Do you have any idea how scared we were? Snuffles here just about stormed the field when they brought that monster in."

"I wasn't in any danger. Really!" he exclaimed to the two disbelieving looks. "I had a plan and the spell to use for that plan. Well, the other way around but... Anyway, Snuffles?" Harry turned to the large black 'dog', "Dumbledore thinks I used family magic in the task. I did, but I don't want him to know where I got it from. Remus," he interrupted the man when he wanted to protest, "it's worse than we thought. _Way_ worse." The man's eyes widened in surprise, he remembered the underhanded dealings that had come out during that Gringotts visit. "I'm thinking something like a hidden safe that Snuffles knew about and sent the contents to me this summer. Would get Dumbles off my back, for now at least." The man-looking wolf and the dog-looking man both nodded. "Now that that's out of the way..." Harry grinned, "It's so good to see you guys."

* * *

Harry slowly made his way up to the Gryffindor common room. He was moving extra slow as he was also listening in, via Blinky, to the conversation between Albus and Harry's only remaining family. Neither Remus nor Sirius were particularly worried about Albus trying to mess with their minds, as Remus' 'furry little problem' made him totally immune to any and all mind arts. Of course, that was an advantage very few people knew werewolves had, but according to Remus it had come in handy quite a few times.

As he approached the portrait guarding the entrance to the common room, the meeting between the three 'adults' (because let's face it, no-one in their right mind would call Sirius Black an adult) ended. Albus had bought, or at least seemed to believe, the story that after escaping Hogwarts, Sirius had dropped by Godric's Hollow and sought out a hidden stash where Harry's parents had hidden their family grimoire. Albus expressed his disappointment in the two men, of course, but he also had no legitimate way to force Harry to give up such a source of knowledge. Harry, Sirius and Remus knew that the Potter grimoire was actually safely locked inside their Gringotts vault, but Albus certainly didn't.

Finally entering the common room, for the first time in a week, Harry idly noted, he immediately was hit by the somewhat familiar atmosphere of a Weasley Twins party. Evidently they had not wasted any time, or opportunity, to have some fun.

"Harry!" the duo of red-heads approached him moments later.

"Hey guys. Why am I not surprised?" Harry grinned at two pranksters.

"Harry."

"Old pal."

"You wound us."

"Say we're predictable."

Harry couldn't help but smile at the antics. "Sorry, Forge, Gred, in this you two _are_ predictable."

"Aww." they groaned in unison.

"Harry James Potter!" Harry suppressed a smile at hearing that. There was _no way_ that Hermione would not have figured... "How could you do it?" Harry frowned in confusion at Hermione's words, "I could understand it when you spent the entire day at the hospital wing," Harry's mind stalled, "but this? Intentionally skipping classes to prepare for a tournament you have no place being in? Perhaps if you had had thought about anything other than getting more fame you would have understood that there is a reason only adults were supposed to participate. Not like you ever cared for rules anyway."

"Hermione..." Harry was still to shocked to speak.

"Don't bother." the brunette witch sneered, actually _sneered,_ and walked away.

Harry stood in shock. This was not the Hermione he knew. She _knew_ that Harry hated his fame, this... Harry blinked, Hermione had sat down on a coach with Ronald, acting... _friendly_ with the red-head. Harry's face hardened as parts of his mind he had not drawn upon in a long time begun to wake. Something was wrong. With one last glance at the witch Harry turned to leave for his dorm.

The Weasley twins, who had been shocked by the scene as well, jumped out of the way as they saw his face. They had seen that same expression on it earlier that day, when Harry was confronting his dragon. As they watched the raven-haired boy walk away, with the same calm, exact steps they had seen in the arena, they both had the same thought, 'Pity whoever is the target of _that_.'

Harry was not stupid. He might be only mediocre in his marks, but that was mostly from his life at the Dursleys and then getting Ron 'who needs school anyway' Weasley as his first friend. Over the last few weeks he had slowly regained that passion for learning he had had when he begun his mundane education. Vernon 'The Walrus' Dursley had been particularity nasty when Harry came back with almost perfect marks after his first month of school. That would lead to Harry not really trying at school. It should be noted that while Dudley was forced to study (something he continually bemoaned) to get a passing mark on tests, Harry always got the same result without any real effort on his part. The teachers had thought he was just lazy. Harry didn't bother correcting them.

When Harry had discovered the magical world he spent almost every moment he could learning everything from the books he had. It was a new school in, for all intents and purposes, a new world, and from the looks of it, his relatives would not care how he did at _this_ school. He had been looking forwards to learning new things. Then he had made friends with Ronald Weasley. The red-head was from a magical family and Harry was hoping he would be willing to teach him a thing or two on magical society. Instead Harry discovered that Ron seemingly abhorred learning; to the point that he continually insulted the girl Harry thought he might find a kindred spirit in.

And that was what Harry considered his greatest failure; abandoning Hermione Granger to the kind abuse he himself had experienced.

He chose the easy, safe path of siding with the friend he had instead of risking ending up alone.

After the Troll incident Harry had vowed to not abandon the girl again, and, other that the Firebolt incident, that Ron initiated and perpetuated, he had held to that. He had no intention of stopping now.

 _'Blinky!'_ Harry shouted into his connection to the spirit.

 _'Yes?'_

 _'Drop everything.'_ he started on the steps to his dorm, _'I need you to keep watch over Hermione.'_

 _'I will, of course, but, why?'_ the serpent was confused, Harry had wanted to be informed of any plots Albus might make.

 _'Something is wrong with her. People change, yes, but not like this. I need you to keep watch on her, who she hangs out with, what she eats and drinks,_ especially _if someone else gives her food or drink.'_ Harry's mind was already whirling with worry.

 _'Potions?'_ Blinky inquired, having already moved her attention to the girl sitting in the common room below.

 _'That or mind-altering spells. Nothing else could do so much so fast. And both of those have one common thing...'_ He entered his dorm and quickly sealed the door behind him.

 _'They have to reapplied. I will be vigilant.'_

 _'Thank you.'_ "Dobby!" Harry stood at the middle of the round room.

"Master Harry Potter..." Dobby could not finish his speech as Harry already gave him instructions.

"There is a book in my library, _Mind-Magics and How to Recognize Them_. Bring it to me." Dobby, noticing the state of his master merely popped away and returned moments later with the book. "Thanks." Harry nodded and unsealed the door before settling in his bed and starting to read. By the time anyone else entered the dorm, Harry's bed had its curtains closed and nobody bothered him.

* * *

It was almost a full week later, after Harry had read through the few books in Sal's library and another one Sirius had given him after Dobby took a note from Harry to Grimmauld place, and he was still no closer to an answer. There were a number of potions and spells that could account for part of the changes, but nothing that would do all of it.

Harry had started to look into combinations, but that promised to be an even bigger endeavour than the one he had taken on now. Deciding to shelf the search for what was left of the day he put the Potions book on loan from Black library into his bag and was halfway across the common room when Blinky shouted in his head, _'Master! The read-head just added a potion to the bottle he is handing to her!'_

Blinky had not even finished talking when Harry was already storming across the room towards where Ron and Hermione were seated. He saw Hermione taking the bottle of Butter-beer Ronald gave her, a drink Harry remembered Hermione express her distaste over, and just as she was about to drink from it Harry walked up and snatched it from her hand. "Potter! What the hell are you..." Harry ignored the anger pouring from his best friend, or the shocked and partially terrified feeling from the other. He was already casting an identification spell on the contents of the bottle, without even noticing his wand was still in its holster. Seeing the results Harry's face grew stony. As he turned to face the rest of the room, many gasped at the sheer rage contained in his eyes.

Before anyone could react he had his wand in his hand. A calm _Somnus_ sent Hermione falling back to the coach, asleep. Before she had landed a _**Stupefy**_ sent Ron flying half-way across the room. Without taking a breath Harry followed that with an _Expecto Patronum_. He was so focused on what he was doing that he failed to recognize that not only had he succeeded in casting a corporeal Patronus, but that instead of it being a stag, reminiscent of his father's animagus form, it was a giant serpent instead. One that, if he had been aware of it, Harry would have instantly recognized as Blinky.

"Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomfrey," Harry spoke with a calm but ice cold voice that had more than a few of present shiver, "Your presence is required at Gryffindor common room." After another moment the snake Patronus turned and disappeared into the wall.

When a few minutes later the head of Gryffindor house entered the common room, she was unaware that nobody had moved since the moment Harry's Patronus had left it. Looking around she noticed the unconscious re-head. "Mister Potter! What is the meaning of this?" she shouted as she moved to _rennervate_ Ronald.

"Unless you want me to inflict further bodily harm on that bastard, you will wait for madam Pomfrey to arrive." Harry's cold, venom filled voice shocked the aged teacher enough that she didn't even argue with him. When Poppy Pomfrey entered the room not long after Harry immediately turned to her, "Before anything else, can you confirm that I read the spell correctly and this," he handed the still-full bottle to her, "contains a loyalty potion?" The healer gasped in surprise at the request, then paled when her own spell confirmed it. "I see. Please perform any checks you need for potions affecting Hermione. Extra attention to mind-altering ones." Poppy complied, already too shocked that anyone would try something like this to the girl to argue over authority.

After getting the results from her scan it was only her experience as a healer that prevented her from fainting. "We need to get her to the hospital wing, now!"

Just as she was about to use a levitation spell, Harry called out, "Dobby." as the elf appeared he continued, "Take healer Pomfrey and Hermione to the hospital wing. Then come back for me." Before anyone else could speak or even think, really, Hermione and Poppy were gone, moments later so was Harry.

* * *

Minerva rushed into the infirmary to see both Harry Potter and the strangely-dressed elf he had called for carry over a dozen different vials between them to the bed Poppy was still busying around. "Thank you." she heard her say when she saw the potions being delivered. "I truly hope it isn't too late."

"If it is, I'll kill him." Harry spoke in a way that made Minerva feel it wasn't a threat, it was a promise.

"Poppy? What is going on?" she decided it was high time she found out what had befallen her favourite student.

"See for yourself." Harry handed her a parchment with over a dozen potion names with numbers next to them on it.

Minerva read the list, noting that several potions on it were on the Restricted List. All for good reason. "What is this?" She had a horrible feeling, but had to be sure.

"The list of potions I found in her system." Poppy answered as she fed the sleeping girl potion after potion. "The numbers next to each is the estimate of doses she has gotten."

Minerva looked back at the list and paled white, "Dear Merlin..."

"Deputy Headmistress?" She was surprised to be addressed as such, by one of her lions no less, "I hearby request the presence of DMLE to continue this investigation. This in no school-yard prank gone wrong." With a subdued nod Minerva returned the parchment and walked over to the Floo in Pomfrey's office to call the Aurors.

Before she returned Albus arrived at the infirmary, accompanied by one Ronald Weasley. "Harry, what is this I hear about you attacking young Ronald and miss Granger?" he spoke in his best 'I'm so disappointed' voice.

"Are you really that stupid?" Harry sneered at the man before him. It took every ounce of his self-control to not blow his mask wide open. Poppy had heard what Harry said but saw no need to call him out on it, she had a very good guess who was the guilty party here. Well, one of the guilty ones. "Or are you so naïve you believe whatever the first idiot you come across tells you?" He glared at Ron with such hate the read-head seemed to visibly shrink.

"I will not have you speak to me in such a tone young man! Now you will explain what happened that has caused such harm to miss Granger." Albus dropped the kindly facade and put forth his Headmaster face.

"I would like to know that as well." a voice from behind Albus had him spin in surprise, "Minerva only said there has been an incident, she would not say what happened."

"Amelia?" Albus exclaimed in surprise, "Whatever are you doing here? You know that Hogwarts sorts out its internal matters internally." He frowned internally, the presence of the head of DMLE was almost guaranteed to be a problem.

"I called her." Minerva, still quite pale spoke up.

"Why?" Albus turned to his chief minion. Uhh, Deputy that is.

"I asked her to." Harry spoke up, his voice unnaturally calm. "And while I have little doubt that Hogwarts internal matters can be handled as is, _this_ is not an internal matter." Harry passed the list of potions to the new arrival, "This is a list of potions healer Pomfrey discovered actively affecting my classmate Hermione Granger." Amelia nearly had her monocle drop as she read the list of potions, "I caught Ronald Weasley there trying to feed her another dose of loyalty potion. Only then did I learn of the true extent of the damage being done to Hermione."

"Harry..." Albus tried to defuse the situation before he lost control.

"Albus, don't even try. There are not only NEWT and post-NEWT level potions on this list, several of them are Restricted. That fact alone makes this a DMLE investigation." Amelia interrupted him with a scowl on her face.

"I see." Albus sighed, there was nothing he could do now without compromising decades of work. Still, "Harry, I understand you are angry at your friend, but..."

"Friend?!" Harry shouted, "What in the blazes makes you think that piece of shit is my friend?" He was screaming by the end of it.

"He has been for years... You must be able to forgive..." Albus trailed off when Harry started to laugh.

"Forgive? FORGIVE?" Harry yelled into Albus' face, "He tried to enslave Hermione!" Nobody could have hear the quiet gasp behind the infirmary doors. "He! Tried! To! Enslave! Hermione!" Every word was punctuated by Harry taking another step forward, Albus unthinkingly stepping back. "I can and have forgiven a lot of things. Insults, theft, baseless accusations, I can move past a lot." Albus didn't even notice Harry had literally backed him into a corner, "But one thing I will never, ever, _ **ever**_ ," the room reverberated with power, "forgive or move past. Is betrayal. And that," he pointed his left hand towards Ron, who seemed ready to faint, "worthless, brainless waste of magic betrayed both Hermione and me. As far as I am concerned, Ronald Weasley is _**dead**_." Harry turned towards the infirmary doors, "He should be grateful that I want nothing more to do with his pathetic life." Harry begun to walk towards the doors, that opened by themselves as he came closer, "But if he _ever_ tries to do _anything_ to those I care about, I _will_ end him." Harry walked away, his magic still flaring around him.


	8. Aftermath

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

Having to scrap a chapter's worth of content because it doesn't fit the overall story can damage ones willingness to write more. Who knew...

On with the story!

Aftermath.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was having a good time. Sure, scarhead was not around much these days and so he had not been able to get him in trouble, but it was obvious that he and the mudblood was on the outs; oh, and that blood traitor Weasley seemed to have taken her in. That by itself was good material for future moves to get scarhead in trouble with professor Snape.

Of course there was what the idiot had done back in the first task; his father hadn't believed him at first, but when the Daily Prophet put up its coverage of the event, Draco had to mail a memory of the task for him to peruse. Draco was secretly curious how someone as pathetic as Potter could manage it. He was sure his father could use the event to get scarhead into more trouble.

He broke from his reminiscing when he noticed his favourite target enter the entrance hall, seemingly intent to leave the castle. Before he could start his well-refined taunting someone showed past him, distracting him. He turned to sneer at whatever idiot had done it when he paused for a split second at seeing who it was, "Watch where you're going, Greengrass." he shot after the Ice Queen of Slytherin. By the time he could try to reacquire his target, Harry Potter had already left the castle.

Draco would never know how close to death he came that day.

* * *

Harry didn't want to leave Hermione, certainly not with Albus in the same room. But he also didn't want to commit murder in front of the director of DMLE; he had recognized her from the description Sirius and Remus had given him. Beyond that, he had barely held onto his temper, managing to not start ranting at Albus for all the shit he had done to Harry, most of it things Harry was not supposed to know about.

Had he stayed in that room any longer, there would have been at least one corpse, so he instead chose to put some faith in the one person his godfather had said was trustworthy and left the castle seeking some place to 'let off some steam'. That being said, Blinky was still back there, ready to warn him if anything happens. And if anything did, Harry was sure he wouldn't care if he had to fight the whole bloody Auror department to stop the old goat.

As his mind was overtaken by emotions Harry didn't notice himself walking towards the Black Lake, nor stopping next to a cliff that was at least 15 feet high. Without paying it any real thought, Harry whipped out his wand and begun to release his rage at the rock.

* * *

Cedric Diggory had decided to take his broom for a spin around the castle, to clear his head after figuring out the clue in the golden egg. Well, he had figured out how to get the clue from the egg, he still had to figure out what it all meant. _'We have taken what you'll sorely miss...'_ was not that informative.

As he made another pass over the lake he noticed Harry walking toward the lake, seemingly deep in thought. Slowing in his flight, he nearly fell off in surprise when Harry started to throw spells at the nearby cliff. Cedric was shocked to see large chunks of stone break off from the solid rock as Harry kept pounding at it.

* * *

Victor Krum was returning to the Durmstrang ship after his daily run, to find all of his schoolmates staring at something off the far side of the deck. Moving over there himself he was shocked to discover Harry Potter seemingly trying to destroy a cliff. While that was surprising, and Victor couldn't help but wonder what could cause the seemingly unflappable boy do this, what truly shocked him, and every other Durmstrang student, was the fact that he was _succeeding_. The cliff was slowly breaking from the relentless barrage of spells.

* * *

Fleur Delacour was sitting in her room, re-reading the letter her mother had sent her in answer of the one she had sent after the first task. Well, the day after the first task. She had done her best to avoid Hogwarts students for the whole week, worried of what her reaction would be if she encountered Harry Potter in a... private setting. Now, after her mother had sent answers for her concerns, she begun to wonder what she should do now.

Feeling a sudden wave of magic wash over her, Fleur recognized almost instantly who was responsible for it. Leaving the enchanted carriage she followed the repeated waves towards the lakeside, near where the Durmstrang ship was anchored. Once she got closer, she was surprised to discover a crowd had gathered, mostly students from her own school, and they all were watching a most unusual sight: a single wizard demolishing a giant cliff.

Fleur was surprised to see the dozens of cracks that had already formed in the formerly-solid rock. Whatever else she might have thought was forgotten when, with a scream that filled the air, Harry released a blast of what seemed like pure magic and, in by far the most impressive act of magic Fleur had ever seen, shattered the cliff entirely, sending what must have been tons of rock into the air, to land either in the lake or the forest beyond. Everyone else begun to whisper with shock and fear in their voices as Harry begun to walk towards the Quiddich field, but Fleur just looked after him. She still had questions, and she won't get any answers by hiding in her room.

* * *

Albus had retreated to his office after Amelia had managed to get young Ronald to admit that it was his mother who had mailed him the potions and instructed him on their use. Albus had hoped he could leverage the entire situation to further his current plans, but a quick scan of the boy's mind, together with the fact that Amelia had immediately sent a team to the Burrow to search for the potions and bring Molly Weasley in for questioning, had him abandon that cause. He had, at least, managed to prevent Amelia from outright arresting the boy by arguing that he had obviously been acting at his mother's orders.

He didn't do that out of the good of his heart, of course, one of the main rules of the school was that any student that has been found guilty for a crime by the DMLE is immediately expelled. He didn't want to lose one of his best spies in Gryffindor; besides, given the birth status of the girl, it was not like the Wizengamot would do anything more than give his family a fine. Now, if she was from one of the old families... Albus mentally shuddered, nothing could save them in that case.

Right now however, he was pondering how Harry's obvious affection for miss Granger could be used to further his long term plan. The tournament had managed to alienate Harry from the rest of the school, as he had planned. Albus had considered miss Granger abandoning Harry an unexpected lucky break, he had even been considering letting her live, the Weasleys could have used the breeding material. But the one thing he had not counted on was the complications that using a barely-understood magical artefact could cause for his plans.

The goblet was enchanted to ensure a fair competition and Harry had been deemed unequal to the other champions. Albus had known that the goblet can take magic away, he had never expected that it can do the reverse. And to make matters even worse, he might have outsmarted himself. Being left with no support whatsoever from the school had evidently forced Harry to seek out other means. Namely Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Albus still couldn't believe the mess those two had caused. Black had managed to escape (Bloody rules of Time) and Lupin had managed to not eat or even harm any students the whole year.

And now the truth of the situation surrounding miss Granger has come out. Albus didn't want to admit it but he had been slightly scared when Harry had confronted him in the infirmary. He was certain he could take Harry down if the need came, but at that point the boy had been beyond angry, his magic eager to lash out. He had noticed the beginnings of Occlumentic shielding surrounding Harry's mind; nowhere near enough to stop him, but enough that he didn't risk reading the boy's mind in the presence of Amelia Bones.

It was as Albus turned to look outside and noticed the commotion by the lake that he understood how this situation can serve his goals. Right now Harry had only two, maybe three, people supporting him. Of those one was a wanted criminal with a Kiss-on-sight order on him, the other a Dark creature aiding said criminal with the potential third being an underage muggleborn witch. None of those would be particularly hard to eliminate and, if the situation can be arranged where miss Granger is killed by Tom or his followers, why that by itself could very well be enough to drive Harry into a self-destructive kill-Tom-or-die-trying mindset. Then even if Harry somehow manages to disembody his failed experiment the boy will be empty, broken. Tell him then that the last link Tom has to the living world is the scar fuelled by Harry's own life-force...

Albus smiled as he begun to set out a new plan for his... ascension.

* * *

Blinky floated in the infirmary, her ghostly form invisible to all but her master. By this time the infirmary was empty save for healer Pomfrey in her office. Blinky would have left to keep watch over Albus in his office or see what Amelia Bones was doing in the Hufflepuff common room, but the order given to her by her master still prevented her from leaving.

Blinky looked down at the sleeping girl, knowing that her master loved this child so, so much. Knowing what losing this young woman before her could, would, do to him. Knowing how much her acceptance meant to him. Knowing how unlikely it was that the person she had observed stand by her master for the last three years would stand with him now. With a silent apology to her master, Blinky reached out with the magic of the castle and begun her work.

* * *

Hermione was dreaming. In her dream she was a princess that had been abducted from her castle by a vile troll that kept her in its cave, locked in a steel cage, and no matter what she tried, no matter how she tried, she could not escape. And after every time she tried the cage was made stronger, the bars thicker, more numerous and the troll became ever more angry. By now she could barely even see the outside of her cage, but what she did see terrified her.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she saw a knight in bright, shining armour enter the cave, looking around until it noticed the troll. Her heart raced, rescue at last. And then she heard him talk. "Is she broken yet?" he asked the troll, his voice dripping with contempt and arrogance. Hermione was horrified, this was her knight in shining armour, the hero of the story! No? "I'm not paying you to be lazy. Work faster. I need her well and truly broken if I am to rule this kingdom." with those words the knight threw a bag of gold on the ground and left, as the troll moved to add even more bars to her cage, seal the last few opening left.

Before it could finish however it was distracted by a red spell hitting its arm. Hermione moved to see who this possible saviour of hers was only to recoil in shock. It was another knight, but whereas the first one had been covered in polished steel and gold, this one wore armour as dark as the night sky. The horned helmet was otherwise featureless, with only two eye-slits glowing in unnatural green, the armour was covered in spikes, the long black cloak moving in non-existent wind and the sword the knight wielded was decorated with several blood-red rubies and glowed with the dark purple of Death Magic. It was the epitome Dark Knight.

Hermione found her curiosity drawing her back to one of the last remaining openings, to see the battle she could hear happening outside her cage. She watched the knight dive beneath a swing of the troll, it was moving surprisingly well for its size. Even then it was easily seen that the knight would win the battle. As she watched the knight slowly end the troll's life she found herself wondering what was to happen to her. Was he here to rescue her? Or just to take her for himself? She honestly couldn't decide what was worse; to be taken captive by a servant of the Dark or to be saved by one.

"Stand back." a voice from the outside interrupted her thoughts. Looking she saw the troll lying on the ground, bleeding from dozens of wounds. She could not find in herself to feel pity for the thing that had tortured her so. But in front of the cooling corpse stood the knight. And he was looking right at her. "Stand back so I don't hurt you." He spoke in a soft voice that seemingly conflicted with his blood-covered appearance. She all but hugged the back wall before the black sword of the knight effortlessly cut through the cage the troll had made around her, giving her the freedom she had sought. But now he was there.

"Don't worry." he said as he stabbed his sword into the ground and reached for his helmet, "They can't hurt you any more." he took it off, his black hair only drawing more attention to his green eyes, "I won't let them." And Hermione knew he meant it. He was her knight... Her Dark Knight.

* * *

Harry entered the Gryffindor locker room feeling exhausted. Not just physically or magically, no, it was emotional exhaustion he suffered from. When he had begun to cast the spells he had felt only rage, anger and hate. It was probably a minor miracle none of the spells he had cast were of the green variety, as Harry was sure he had felt enough hate to manage a killing curse. Remembering what Blinky had said about the difference between Dark and Evil, Harry tried to cast a _Patronus_. He was happy to see the silver cloud take on a shape, only to be surprised when instead of the Prongs-like stag, it became a very recognizable basilisk.

Harry laughed as he understood the reason for the change: When he had learned the spell first, his magic had associated protection with his parents, thus Prongs. But now, after everything that had happened last month, it had a new model for what protection meant. The millennia-old guardian of Harry's first home. An idle thought raced through his mind, If Tom Riddle could cast a _Patronus_ , would it be a basilisk too? Snorting in amusement Harry begun to remove his sweaty clothes; he was in dire need of a shower.

Harry had spent many sleepless hours contemplating the differences and similarities between him and Tom Riddle. He had come to accept that he was well on the way to becoming a Dark wizard. He also knew that most of the wizarding world was so badly conditioned that they could not see the difference between the dark of the night, opposite and as needed as the light of day, and the evil of mindless slaughter, as opposed to the good of protecting life. To most of the magical world Light was good and Dark was evil. Harry knew better. And if he had to become a Dark Lord to save the world he had come to call home... then so be it.

Harry had started one of the shower stalls with a casual application of Wild magic as soon as he was done undressing. Calling for Dobby to deliver a fresh change of clothes he entered the shower area and stood beneath the flow of hot water. He sighed as the cramps that had started to set in eased away. Harry smirked as he realized that in short order there would be three Dark Lords fighting over magical Britain, each with their own idea of what the magical world should be like. And the people of magical Britain would have no idea it was happening. Harry chuckled and begun to wash away the results of his 'training session'.

"Better?"

The by-now-familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. "Not really." he answered after a moment of consideration.

"Good. If what you did had made you feel better I would be quite worried." Blinky had intruded on Harry's shower time so often that Harry didn't feel even slightly uncomfortable with her being there. Then again, due to their connection, it could be said that she was always by him.

"Didn't I tell you to keep watch over Hermione?" Harry frowned.

"Albus has returned to his office, director Bones and the traitor Weasley have left Hogwarts and other than Healer Pomfrey no persons are within 100 feet of the Hospital wing." Blinky sounded positively smug. "Furthermore, the hospital wing has a set of dedicated emergency wards that, if activated, could very well hold back an adult dragon for several hours." Harry could _hear_ the smirk as she spoke, "That's several hours longer than it would be alive if one did decide to attack Hogwarts right now."

Harry snorted, "You got that right." the two were silent for some time as Harry finished cleaning himself. "How is she?" he asked after he shut off the shower.

"The potions are being cleared from her system. It will be a few hours yet before she wakes up." Harry was surprised to see that Blinky had chosen to appear in a form similar to that she used when they first met, although this one was a bit younger, around his age, if he had to guess.

"Any particular reason you are using that form?" Harry ruthlessly squashed the embarrassment that reared its head as his brain tried to convince Harry he was naked in the presence of a girl.

"No, not really." Blinky smirked as she followed Harry out of the shower room. "Can't a girl just want to look good for her master?"

Harry sighed, "Please don't go there." he smiled at the pile of new-looking clothes that Dobby had delivered and started dressing.

"You do understand that after my father died I spent a thousand years effectively by myself, then when I finally met a seemingly nice boy he turned out to actually be a vile monster that then literally stole my body from me, that I then had to watch being used to terrorize the inhabitants of the castle before it was killed in front of my eyes, and then in a convoluted series of events I find myself with the man who killed my body as my magically bound master." Harry had paused dressing as Blinky ranted. "Did you know that I am aware of your emotions? Do you have any idea how jealous it makes me to know you have someone you love and who loves you back?" Harry's mind momentary stalled at those words, "Sal had planned to make me a mate but he never got the chance. And now I am stuck with the emotions of a love-sick teenager filling my head. So excuse me for trying to deal with it the only way I can." Without another word Blinky's manifestation disappeared.

Looking at the empty spot for a while longer Harry slowly finished dressing and slowly walked back to the castle, his mind once more deep in thought.

* * *

Walking the halls of Hogwarts, Harry quickly noticed the looks he was receiving. The vast majority fell into two types; looks of fear and of awe. It was quite obvious that news of his little 'stress relief' by the lake had already made the rounds. He did admit that he was surprised by the blushes several Slytherin girls developed when his gaze lingered at them. There was certainly _something_ going on with them, but right now Harry had much more important things to do.

Entering the Gryffindor common room Harry didn't bother to look around as he walked right to the stairs to his dorm. When he came down a few minutes later he was accosted by certain red-headed twins.

"Harry." Fred begun.

"We had no idea." George continued in the same grave voice.

"We mean, Ron might have mentioned something about liking Hermione but..."

"But not even in our worst had we thought he might do something even remotely like this."

"Guys," Harry frowned, "You really, _really_ had no idea that git was planning or doing this?" his stare was calm, yet demanding honesty.

"No Harry, we swear did not." they immediately answered in unison.

"Good. I like you two and wasn't looking forwards to the mess you being my enemies would cause." Harry spoke in a completely calm tone, yet both twins had to wonder what 'mess' exacly Harry was referring to. "The git is all but dead to me already. If he tries anything, that's what he will end up as. I..." Harry hesitated for a moment, "I really don't know what I would do if I found out that someone had known. Not taken part, just known and not told me about it." Harry sighed, "Anyway, I gotta go." A smile appeared on his face, "If Poppy was right, Hermione should be waking up soon."

After Harry had left the two shared a look, "Poppy?"

"Well, he has spent a lot of time with her."

"I did not need that image."

"Oh Merlin!" the twins groaned and rushed to their room.

Nobody noticed another red-head leaving the common room shortly thereafter.

* * *

A couple hours later Harry sighed as he put down the quill. He had _finally_ finished the last of the essays that Snape had assigned him for skipping classes. It was also the last of the extra work piled on him after he returned to class following the First Task. Because Dumbledore himself had announced that Harry was busy preparing as the explanation for his absence, the headmaster was quite limited on what punishment Harry could be assigned. In the end it had been a small mountain of 'catch up work'. Snape had gleefully assigned Harry an essay for _every single potion_ he had brewed in the Potions class _for the last three years_. It might have backfired if the sour 'teacher' had intended to drown Harry in work, as Harry had spent much time researching the potions, their ingredients and preparation methods, and as a result had found his skills in Potions greatly improved. "Finally! I still can't believe he managed to get away with assigning me that many..."

 _'You knew this was likely to happen.'_ Harry turned his head to where the once more serpentine shape of Blinky floated in mid-air. _'Still, he does appear to be particularly unreasonable when it comes to you.'_

Harry snorted. _'You can say that again.'_ he put away the books and parchment he had used, ' _How are you?_ '

 _'Better. Harry I'm... I shouldn't have...'_ Blinky wiggled around obviously uncomfortable.

 _'Don't.'_ Harry interrupted the attempted apology, _'You have nothing to be sorry about. In fact I should be apologising to you, I spent so much time focusing on the changes to my magic, then the first task and then Hermione that I totally failed to consider how this all must be for you. I'm sorry for that.'_ Harry looked to the still-sleeping girl next to him. ' _But I will never be sorry for loving Hermione._ '

 _'I know. And... Thank you.'_ Blinky shifted back into her human appearance.

Harry took a moment to look at the spirit as she walked around the ward, a question burning in his mind, _'If you don't mind my asking...'_ Harry held back a snort as Blinky spun around to look at him, her long ghostly hair swinging out, _'What's with this look?'_

 _'Huh?'_ Blinky eloquently expressed her confusion.

 _'I mean, we both know what your actual body looks like. So I'm wondering if the human form you are using is what you would look like as a human or if it is in the image of someone.'_ Harry finished before he understood how rude it might sound. _'You don't have to say if you don't to. I mean... I'm just curious, I don't want to pry or anything...'_ Harry rambled in their link.

 _'My sister.'_ Blinky's words broke Harry from his rambling, _'This is how my sister looked like.'_

 _'Your... sister.'_ Harry took a moment to consider the words. _'Wait, you mean...'_

 _'Morgan Le Fay. Yes.'_ Blinky sighed and seemingly sat down on the bed on Hermione's other side. _'I always considered her my sister in all but blood. She and Myradin were the only ones to talk to me between Salazar's death and me meeting Tom.'_

 _'You miss them.'_ Both knew it wasn't a question.

Blinky looked at Hermione before giving a small smile, _'She is waking up.'_

 _'Wha..'_ Whatever else he might have said or done was forgotten as Hermione stirred, the sleeping potion wearing off. Harry was by her side instantly, his hand next to hers.

She woke with a start. Hermione seemed to panic for a moment before noticing Harry and locking to his eyes, "Harry!" she all but jumped into hugging him. Had Harry not undergone the magically-powered growth spurt, it might have been enough to throw them off the bed, as it was, Harry gently returned the bone-crushing hug. "It was so horrible, I tried but he just kept..." Harry felt his shirt become wet with the tears of the girl he was holding onto. But that didn't matter. "What I said to you, he kept telling me what to..." He was fairly sure his magic was already compensating for the lack of oxygen. But that didn't matter. "I kept hoping someone would notice... And then you..." he was sitting in the most uncomfortable position possible as he listened to Hermione cry her heart out. But that didn't matter. None of it did.

Hermione, _his_ Hermione was back. "Don't worry." he slowly rubbed her back while whispering to her. "They can't hurt you any more." She was safe now. Harry closed his eyes, "I won't let them." And he would die before letting anyone harm her.

He never noticed her breath hitching at his words.


	9. Free

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

A slight edit to chapter 7 due to a change in the background of our favourite man-shaped wolf.

On with the story!

Free.

* * *

" _Don't worry. They can't hurt you any more. I won't let them."_

The words still repeated in Hermione's mind as she slowly ate the meal one of the castle elves had delivered to her. She knew that Harry could have no way of knowing about the dream she had had, but still, it got her mind moving in ways it otherwise wouldn't.

Despite the potion-induced haze on her mind she had still noted the changes in Harry; not just those of his body but also his performance in class, he was almost as good as her by now. But he had also become far more secretive, spending a lot of time somewhere that wasn't the Gryffindor common room or the library. Then there was the fact that Harry had outright disappeared the week before the first task. Remembering what she had said to him afterwards filled Hermione with shame, even though she knew the words had been put in her mouth by that traitorous weasel.

As she finished eating she tried to figure out when the first potions had been fed to her. Now that their effects were gone she did recognize her behaviour as far back as the beginning of the year as wrong, and yet it was almost two months before she really lost control. Could it really have started all the way back at the Quiddich World Cup? If it did, how many of the Weasleys were involved in this?

Glancing towards the office where Harry and madam Pomfrey had gone to discuss something in private had her consider Harry again. He had changed, obviously, but how much of it was because of this tournament or because of her... abandoning him, or because of... something else. As Hermione paused to consider, there was really only one question that she knew was important. Was she willing to stand by Harry?

Harry had saved her from that troll back in their first year, even though the headmaster wiped his and Ron's memory of it. Hermione didn't know why the memory charm didn't work on her but she never mentioned it to anyone. Then there was the whole mess with the Philosophers stone and a possessed professor. She was so angry at herself later for not figuring it out then; _someone_ had already passed that room, and yet all the vials were full. They had obviously replenished themselves, she could have followed Harry, but she didn't and Harry had almost died because of it.

During their second year Harry was revealed as a Parselmouth, and instantly vilified as a Dark wizard because of it. Hermione had refused to distance herself from Harry however, the memory of what her mistake last year had almost caused still fresh on her mind. And then she went and made an even worse one. Seriously, going to investigate her suspicion for the Chamber entrance on her own, without informing anyone... Had she not met that prefect along the way... Hermione suppressed the shudder, such things did not bear thinking on.

Anyway, after _that_ , Harry had spent a lot of time with her, talking about anything and everything. It was the only thing that kept her from going insane. She never told him she had heard and remembered all of it. Even all the stories he told in the depth on night, about his 'loving relatives', about their hate of anything not fitting their idea of normal, about all the years he had spent in a tiny cupboard beneath the stairs... he obviously didn't think she can hear him and Hermione had never found the courage to tell him she had.

And last year had been both the best and the worst. When Harry almost died in that accursed game she wanted nothing more than to help him, to do all she can to protect him. And she almost ruined everything when she let her... well, authority-worship, lead her decision to go to professor McGonagall with her concerns over the Firebolt Harry received, instead of Harry himself. He was right to be angry at her, she had gone behind his back, in a way betrayed his trust. But thinking back on it now, other than the one row the evening she got his broom confiscated, Harry never looked at her with anger, only disappointment. That actually hurt far more than anger ever would.

He did eventually forgive her, and Hermione reinforced her private promise to help Harry however she could. She had never expected that to mean helping Harry save his innocent godfather from an unjust execution, steal away a hippogriff due for beheading or to break the very laws of time-travel in the process of doing it all. But that's what happened. Hermione couldn't help the smile as she remembered that short flight on Buckbeak. She had expected to be scared, but instead had only felt safe. It was that night she decided to make a move if Harry hadn't asked her out by next Halloween.

By the time that damned day came however, Hermione recognized it now, she was deeply under the effects of those potions, and her... crush on the green-eyed boy was far from her ability to act upon. And then Harry saved her. Like a knight in shining... armour... The thought died as the memory of her dream came back to the forefront.

Was she willing to stand by Harry? More importantly, was she willing to stand by Harry if he went Dark? Was she willing to aid him in his goals, whatever they might be? Was she willing to walk down that road by his side? She knew the answer before she was done asking the questions...

Always.

* * *

"What do you mean, 'long term damage'? The potions were purged." Harry frowned at the experienced healer, "You told me it wasn't too late."

Poppy Pomfrey sighed, sometimes she really hated her job, "The potions have been purged, yes, but it was far closer than I am comfortable with. The magic in them was on the verge of overwhelming her natural resistance, if that happened it would no longer matter if she received any more potions, the effects would be permanent." she glanced to the ward, where the young witch was eating her lunch, "The problem here is that after this much time some parts of her psyche might have already been modified to... accommodate the changes."

"So it wasn't soon enough." Harry frowned.

Poppy shook her head, "No, her magic was still very much resiting the effects. However... You know how most potions work in tandem with the persons magic to work, yes?" Harry nodded, that was one surprising thing he had learned during his 'potions essay binge'. "Unlike those, the potions given to miss Granger worked against her magic instead, trying to force it to affect her thinking."

"It can do that?" Harry blurted out, "I mean... my magic can affect what I think?"

"Yes. It is not something often talked about, but magic is a far more integral part of a witch or a wizard than seems at first. The belief in the superiority of magicals didn't just appear; our magic flows into our bodies, making us stronger, faster, smarter and generally... well, better, than those without magic. It is not a belief or propaganda, it is a fact." _That_ was something Harry hadn't known.

"But then..." Harry couldn't hold back the question, "Why are there so many stupid wizards?"

Poppy held back her smile, at that moment the young man before her reminded her of Lily so very much, "Magic improves our bodies and minds beyond what nature would normally give. If there's not much to begin with, or if magic has to counter certain... issues... I don't need to spell this out, do I?" she asked with a small smile.

"No, you don't." Harry looked to where Hermione sat in her bed, "But how does all of this affect Hermione, exactly?" he turned back to the healer.

"As I said, her magic fought against the changes. However, it no doubt fought more against changes to her core principles than to what she would consider of less importance." Poppy looked at Harry gravely, "That is a very important distinction; the things that might have changed are not ones that _are_ less important, but what she _considers_ less important. I am certain that her core opinions and beliefs are unaffected, but without a before-and-after examination by a mind healer, something that is impossible now, I can't say what, if any, lesser aspects of her personality have suffered."

The two sat in silence for several minutes before Harry spoke, "So basically, parts of her mind that Hermione considers less important _might_ or might _not_ have been modified by the potions fed to her by the weasel." Harry sighed, "Is there any way to know for sure? One that doesn't require me breaking laws of time?" _Again_.

Poppy sighed, "Not really. Talking with her about this is something you should do anyway, and while it will probably let you find out what has changed, it will be impossible to tell whether the changes were caused by the potions themselves or just the whole event."

" _Just_ the event?" Harry held back from shouting. "There was nothing..."

"Harry." Poppy continued to talk in her calm voice, "Can you really tell me that what happened didn't affect _you?_ " Harry slumped back in his chair. "Even if the potions themselves didn't change anything about her, merely being put in this situation is all but guaranteed to have consequences on her mind." Poppy noted the ward that informed her that her patient was done eating, "Now, I will of course follow my promise, but you have to promise me this," Harry snapped to attention, "Be there for her. Not necessarily the Hermione Granger you remember, but the one that is on that bed right now. Can you do that?"

Harry gave a sad smile, "Poppy, even without... last summer, I swore I would always be there when she needs me. This..." Harry trailed off, "I messed up. I got distracted, didn't pay attention to details... I made it my _duty_ to keep her safe. And I messed up."

Poppy sighed, knowing that nothing she could say will relive her youngest friends sorrow. Glancing back to the ward, she knew who could. "Well then." she got up and placed several potion vials on a tray, "I need to catch up on the paperwork backed up because of this mess." She held the tray to Harry, "Why don't you take these to her. They'll help her magic and body recover faster."

Poppy smiled as she watched Harry walk to the only occupied bed in the infirmary. Before starting on her not at all backed up work she turned on the specialized wards that will ensure the two teens are not disturbed.

* * *

Harry didn't say anything as he walked over to Hermione's bed and placed down the tray of potions. After sitting down on the bed he finally decided on what to say. "How are you?" In retrospect, not the best opener he could have made.

"Like someone took my intestines and squeezed them till there was nothing left." Hermione glanced to the tray Harry had brought.

"That's probably because the potion neutralisers given to you pretty much did just that." He gave a mirthless chuckle before catching Hermione's glance. "Oh, those are to help you recover faster; an intestine-healing one, muscle and nerve regenerators, a pain relief, that you should probably take now, and a dreamless-sleep one, since the regenerators work better while asleep." Harry turned back to Hermione after counting off the potions Poppy gave him to her looking at him in shock. "What?"

Hermione tried several times before finding her voice "Harry, how did you recognize those potions? I mean, I know you have been here quite a few times, but..."

Harry chuckled as he shook his head, _'Yeah, she's back.'_ "Well, I have spent a lot of time this last week studying potions of all kinds. Both because Snape assigned me a small mountain of 'homework' after the first task, _never mind that as a Champion it was full within my right to take time off classes to prepare,_ " he mumbled to himself, "and because I was sure that there were potions affecting your behaviour." the small amount of mirth that had appeared drained from Harry's face. "Hermione... I'm sorry, I..."

Hermione cut him off, "Harry! You have nothing to be sorry about. Madam Pomfrey told me how you figured it out, how you stopped that... bastard, how you... saved me." she finished in a much shyer voice.

Harry sighed, "But that is just the thing, it should have never gone on for this long! I should have been paying attention, I should have noticed it sooner, I should have..." he trailed off as Hermione hugged him.

"Harry, calm down. I should have noticed that something was wrong myself. I didn't. Well, I did, but by then it was far too late for me to actually do anything." Hermione shook her head, "My point is, you _did_ figure it out. You _did_ stop him and you _did_ save me. There is nothing for you to be sorry about, after all, it's not like protecting me is your job."

 _'If only you knew... Damn you Dumbledore!'_ Harry buried his anger deep within his mind before starting to speak, "I know that but..." he trailed off as Hermione winced in pain as he moved out of her hug. "Right," he gestured with his right hand and summoned the vial of pain relief potion to it, "drink this." he held it to her.

"Harry, did you just?" Hermione looked between the vial, the tray and Harry's face, "That was wandless magic, how did you..."

"Hermione." Harry allowed a small amount of forcefulness into his voice, "you need to recover. I promise I will explain everything," he pushed the vial towards her lips, "but right now all that is important is that you get back on your feet as soon as possible."

As Hermione drank the potion, its effects almost instantly numbing the pain, she could barely hold back the exited shiver caused by the presence Harry gave off just then. The power and confidence, the minute change in his stance and voice, the look on his face, all of it screamed to a part of her that she had ignored ever since discovering it over a year ago. _This_ was the Harry Potter she had fallen in love with, the wizard she had dreamt of oh so many times, the _man_ she wanted to take her, to u... Hermione shut the thought back into its hole before it could go any further.

"Good." Harry nodded, his voice losing some of its edge, "I can't tell you everything right now, or rather here, but here's what I can I think you should know." Harry sat himself more comfortably, not knowing the thoughts he was causing in his favourite bookworm. "Snuffles did a stupid and visited me last summer."

"He what?" Hermione couldn't keep in her shock.

"Yeah. At least Moony was there with him." Harry smiled as he remembered how this all started.

* * *

Harry was still angry as he left 9¾. Angry at Peter Pettigrew for what he did. Angry at Snape for lying about Sirius. Angry at Fudge for believing the bat. Angry at Dumbledore for sitting back and letting it all happen. He had been _that_ close, and now he was on his way back to his... _loving_ relatives for another summer of torture. It had not been that bad after he came back from his first year, until Dobby ruined it of course. The Dursleys now knew that Harry couldn't use magic on them and had no reason to believe... that anybody... cared...

Harry smirked as a plan took form in his mind. After all, his godfather was innocent... but his relatives didn't need to know that. "Hello Uncle." Harry smiled as he approached Vernon, "Shall we get going?" he pulled his trunk to the back of the car. Vernon Dursley was too surprised at the boy's behaviour to even start being angry.

As they approached Privet Drive Harry begun his plan, "You know Uncle, I discovered something this year." he didn't give a chance for the 'man' to interrupt him. "Turns out you and Aunt Petunia were actually right. My parents must have been the worst kind of people." he saw the confusion take hold on the walrus-impersonator's face. "I met two of their best friends this year. My godfather and honorary uncle actually." he smiled, "Let me tell you about them."

He once more didn't give Vernon any time to react, "My honorary uncle was a teacher this year, a really good one actually, he knew so much about dark creatures. Then again, I suppose it takes one to know one." Harry held back the smirk as Vernon's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, right; he's a werewolf, you know, the turn into a beast at full moon, run around eating helpless muggles, kind." Harry sent a silent apology to Remus, even as Vernon visibly paled.

"Of course it makes perfect sense that my parents would be friends with him, given who their best friend and my godfather is. The oldest son of a family whose very name is synonymous with evil and are known for being the masters of the darkest of magics... what was it he told me, 'if a form of dark magic isn't in our library, it doesn't exist'." At that point Vernon was too worried to actually scold the boy for using the m word.

"When he found out I might be in trouble he broke out of Azkaban, the inescapable wizarding prison guarded by soul-eating demons, visited me in school a couple of times and even had a warm reunion with my uncle, they discussed the finer methods of killing a man he had failed to blow up before being thrown into prison."

Harry certainly enjoyed the almost-white face of Vernon in the mirror, "And even when our minister captured him and locked him in a tower, he got out before the soul-eating demons could kill him." Harry braced himself before continuing, this was it, "He told me he had a few thing to deal with beforehand, but he promised to visit me as soon as he could. Since he already knew where I live, I had no need to give him our address..."

Vernon barely maintained control over the car when hearing that. "He... he what..." his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Yeah." Harry nodded, "He found out where I live last summer, sometime around when aunt Marge was visiting. I suppose she's kind of lucky, my godfather would have taken _poorly_ over anyone insulting his friends." Harry openly smirked, "Oh, almost forgot. He also promised to teach me some magic he knew, that very few of my kind actually use."

Harry hadn't _technically_ lied, he might have omitted some... _details_ but the whole point of this was to scare his relatives, and Harry knew that no matter what he would tell his (not favoured) Uncle, what was going through his mind right now was worse. "He actually gave me some stuff to read up on before he gets here, so I was thinking I could just spend the time in my room, make sure that when he comes over I understand what he is talking about and doesn't have to... _demonstrate._ " Okay, that was a bit of a lie, but if it got him what he wanted...

"Sounds..." Vernon audibly gulped, "Sounds fine to me boy."

By then they had arrived and Harry retrieved his trunk before proceeding to his room. Before he entered the house Harry turned before the whale-man, "Ah, almost forgot! You need to know their names, to know to let them in. Remus Lupin, my awesome werewolf uncle and Sirius Black, my equally awesome escaped convict godfather." Leaving the now-ready-to-faint man behind Harry dragged his trunk to his room and fell into his bed; with any luck the Dursleys will be too scared of Sirius dropping in on them to actually do anything. He frowned as he thought on it, he was Harry Potter after all, his luck didn't work that way.

* * *

"And?" Hermione pushed for more when Harry stopped in his story.

The green-eyed warlock smiled, "And the rest will have to wait. It's almost curfew and you need to rest." Despite her half-hearted grumbling Hermione drank the potions Harry gave her and settled down for sleep. As Harry rose to return the tray and empty vials to Poppy he kissed her on the forehead and whispered to her sleeping form, "Love you, Hermione."

He never heard her mumbled response.

* * *

 ** _A/N_** Next time, red-heads and...

Debts


	10. Debts

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.] Fun fact; the Life Debt scene has been a part of the plot since the very first version. Also, this has received very little spell-and-word checking so my apologies for any mistakes. On with the story!

Debts

* * *

As the morning drew ever closer for the ancient Highlands castle Poppy Pomfrey was already up and about, making good use of the specialized training she had received during the height of Grindelwald's war. Few people knew that she was actually almost as old as the Headmaster, mostly because all the time she had spent around healing magic had slowed down her visible ageing. People though she was 'just over forty' for well over forty years now.

Leaving her office-apartment she almost immediately noticed a sight she had become all too used to a couple of years back; Harry Potter sleeping in a chair next to Hermione Granger. Poppy permitted herself a slight smile of amusement as she walked over to the sleeping pair, she had given up being upset a week into miss Granger's petrification.

Re-covering the sleeping boy with his invisibility cloak, that like so many times before had slipped off during the night, she caught sight of a book in his lap. There was no title on it, only a bunch of strange squiggles. Turning away she already put the obviously unimportant book out of her mind and returned to her office to gather the morning dose of the potions miss Granger required.

Harry awoke far later than he had planned. Seeing that Hermione was still asleep and Poppy was nowhere to be seen he decided to try and sneak back to Gryffindor tower. He only made it half-way to the doors when Poppy returned with the potions tray.

"Did you know there are wards on this room informing me how many people are in here. Not only that but they also let me know what they are doing?" Harry froze. "That cloak of yours stops me from knowing _where_ you are, but not that you _are_ here, Harry." As she spoke Poppy placed the tray of potions on the beside table and turned back to the room at large, "So why don't you have that elf of yours bring us some breakfast. Assuming nothing went wrong during the night, miss Granger should be clear to leave afterwards." Harry slowly removed his cloak and proceeded to do exactly that.

* * *

Two hours later the two Gryffindors were on their way to their tower when Hermione decided to once more breach the topic of Harry's changes. "So what _did_ happen? To you I mean." Taking the silence as confusion she elaborated, "Right after the goblet spit out your name it was like a switch being hit. You suddenly got all secretive and kept disappearing. I kept trying to fight through the potions, to tell you I..." Hermione trailed off, pausing to gather her thoughts. "And then no-one sees you for the whole week before the first task and then you show up all... well, like... _this._ " She fought down the blush that tried to emerge from her original choice of words. "And then those spells you used on that dragon, they were amazing! And then I just saw you use wandless magic.. Harry... What happened?"

Despite Hermione's thoughts on the matter Harry was not confused, or even paying that much attention to her questions in fact. He was far more concerned about a portrait of a purple-robed wizard that was quite obviously following them. Knowing that Hermione was expecting an answer, Harry considered what he could say.

"Given that I used Family magic in the task, I can't really tell you that much about it." Harry finally spoke, "I will tell that it was bloody hard to learn the spell I used against the dragon, and yes, it was a single spell." Harry made sure to turn towards a corridor he knew had a sizeable length of no portraits.

Hermione was too taken by his words to notice the detour at first, "Family magic? I have found some references to it, but no real descriptions..." she frowned.

"Unsurprising." Harry nodded, "I myself only know because Snuffles made sure to explain it to me." Harry noticed the portrait shadowing them perk up. "The short of it is that Family magic is all the spells owed by the old families and thus it's given a number of protections. They also can't be legally classified as anything _but_ Family magic, and as such some of the... darker families have some pretty nasty curses that are not technically Dark." Harry led Hermione into the corridor, still keeping her attention to him. "This is just one of the many things that the 'elite' are expected to know and anyone who doesn't, in their opinion, shouldn't know anyway."

Hermione huffed and was about to begin ranting when Harry noted they were finally at one of the very few areas of Hogwarts that was not in the sight of any portrait. "Hermione, listen to me." he stopped and begun to whisper to her, "There are thing you need to know, things I have to tell you, but I can't do it here." He put a finger to her lips to stop her from talking, "Don't. We will pretend like nothing is wrong, go up to the tower, clean up and then I will show you where I have been training." Harry recognized the gleam that his word caused, "The place is secure and I will tell you everything you want to know." Harry moved back into the walking position, "But right now I need you to not ask me any questions and just trust me." Seeing her nod Harry resumed their walk, slipping into what became a small rant over the lack of information on intricacies of Pureblood society.

* * *

Hermione finished dressing as she once more went over the details of the latest oddity concerning Harry Potter. She knew that Harry had avoided answering her questions, but given what he said to her, it seemed it was not because he didn't want to, but because he thought someone was spying on them. The idea confused her, why would anyone spy on Harry, more so, how? She was sure that no-body had followed them, unless they were using some method of invisibility, but then how would Harry be aware of it? And why would he then tell her what he did, when they were in that portrait-less hallway...

The thought froze her as she was grabbing her robes. Did Harry think the portraits were spying on him? Or had he seen something she hadn't? Her curiosity was burning, but right now it was anticipating Harry following up on his promise to tell her. Of course, seeing the place Harry had stayed at, that she knew even the headmaster had been unable to find, was a nice bonus.

She had barely walked down into the near-empty common room when a shout filled the air.

"YOU STUPID GIRL!"

The shout hadn't finished when she was already in motion, her wand finding its way to her hand as she rushed up to the fourth-year boys dorm. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but she did know that she hadn't expected to see Harry, wearing only a towel, staring at a kneeling Ginny Weasley, who was holding her wand in front of her face, Hermione noted. After several seconds of silence, as Hermione tried to figure out something to say Harry visibly sagged and turned to the window.

"So much for that." his whisper was still quite well-heard. "Damn." he shook his head, "Seal the room." Harry spoke in a much louder voice, quite similar to when he had ordered her to drink that potion, a part Hermione's mind noted. Most of it was too shocked to hear the door behind her slam shut and a webbing of golden strings momentarily cover the walls to think more on it.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, of the house of Weasley" Harry spoke with a calm, authoritative voice Hermione had never heard from him before, "Are you aware of the full implications of the offer you have made?" He did not turn away from the window.

"Yes." Ginny answered in a surprisingly calm voice with absolutely no hesitation.

Harry sighed, "Are you doing this of your own free will, with no coercion, demands or expectations by anyone beyond your own person?" Hermione was confused by the wording, but also recognized a magical oath taking place.

"Yes." Ginny's answer was as calm and quick as the first.

"Are you aware that the only way I will ever be able to release you will be by ending your life?" Harry had not moved or changed his tone as he spoke.

"Yes." The third identical answer had Harry sigh again.

"Damn." he took a moment to visibly gather himself, "So much for that." without another word Harry turned his right hand towards his bed and his wand flew across the room to him. Turning back to Ginny he placed the tip of his wand on her head and spoke, in a surprisingly calm voice.

"I, Harry James Potter, Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble house of Potter, Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble house of Black, Heir to the Noble house of Evans, Heir to the Founder house of Gryffindor, Heir to the Founder house of Slytherin, Lord Protector of the house of Lupin, Lord Protector of the house of Granger," Hermione barely stifled a gasp at that, "Hereby acknowledge the repayment offered to my person for the Life Debt owed by one Ginevra Molly Weasley of the house of Weasley..." Harry paused to sigh once more, "And find it adequate. With this bonding no more debts exist between my person and the house of Weasley."

As soon as Harry finished speaking the room was illuminated by a glow flowing from him to Ginny, encompassing the girl and sinking into her. As soon as it faded Harry stepped back and almost collapsed onto his bed. "Fucking hell."

Hermione was at a war with herself. Between her near-automatic need to scold Harry for his language, wanting to know why he had shouted, what offer he had meant and what was the magic she had just seen, she was completely incapable of speaking.

After a full minute, during which Ginny had remained kneeling, a small part of her mind noted, Harry finally spoke. "Why, Gin? Why the fuck did you do that?"

"I knew." The answer was quiet, almost shy, but not quite.

"What do you mean?" Harry moved a bit to see the red-head. Hermione wasn't sure if Harry was ignoring her or truly had not noticed her.

"I knew what Ronald was doing." Harry all but jumped up, his eyes wide in surprise, "I knew he was feeding Hermione potions to have her for himself."

"What!?" Hermione finally found her voice. Harry either didn't hear her or kept ignoring her presence as he focused on the younger girl.

"What exactly did you know and how did you know it?" his voice had certainly dropped a few degrees.

"A few days before Hermione was due to arrive at the Burrow I was sneaking out of the house to practise some spells in the garden. I heard Ronald and Molly talking in the kitchen. I do not know how the conversation got there, but when I started listening, Ronald was bemoaning that he had no chance of getting Hermione to notice him, as she was far too interested in the, to quote, 'bloody-boy-who-keeps-getting-everything'." Harry hissed at the words. "Molly suggested he give Hermione a love potion, Ronald disagreed, saying that that he should just go for the heaviest ones Molly had. She had just agreed when I slipped and they heard me."

"So." Harry growled, "He was the one responsible after all."

"Yes." Ginny still spoke in an unnaturally calm voice. "Ronald dragged me into the kitchen and he and Molly tried to convince me to stay quiet."

"How did they do it?" Harry's voice was once more without any inflection.

"Ronald told me of how, with Hermione out of the way I could be Lady Potter, like I had always dreamed. They were... convincing."

"I see." Harry drawled. After some time he spoke up, "Did you ever help him directly? Did you ever give Hermione any of the potion doses yourself?"

"Several times I was asked to distract you and Hermione during the meals at the Great Hall. I have never directly added any potion to Hermione's food."

Harry fell back onto his bed. "At least there's that." He sighed. "Still... Bloody hell, if I hadn't known the proper..." he sat back up, his face noticeably paler. "Ginny, did you know, or even expect that I would know the proper response to you invoking the debt?"

"No."

Harry gaped at the kneeling girl before jumping up and begin to pace as he ranted, "Coming in here, just..." he seemed to completely ignore everything around him, "How would you even..." Hermione was shocked when he looked right at her, sighed and continued to rant, "And to think you even..."

Harry finally stopped, "I never, ever, ever thought I would be saying this, but Riddle was right. You," he whirled to face Ginny, "are a stupid little girl."

"Harry... What?" Hermione tried to find semblance of sense in the situation.

"She came in here to die." Harry snapped at her, "Sorry." he immediately followed in a much softer voice.

"What." And her attempts at order were gone.

"Ginny came in here, surprising me as I came out of the shower, and before I could stop her invoked the Life Debt she owed me." Harry was obviously trying to stay calm. "That's when I called her a stupid girl."

"Why? Why would her..." Hermione was still very confused.

"Do you even know what a life debt is?" seeing Hermione shake her head, Harry sighed and sat down. "Right. It is a form of, presumably artificial, magic that creates a binding between a person who saves someone under some very specific circumstances and the person being rescued. To put it bluntly, a Life Debt means that the rescuer basically has a claim on the rescuee's life. It can be invoked by either party and if refused or not answered properly, the one owing the debt dies."

Hermione had fallen onto one of the beds by the entrance into the room as Harry spoke, her memories of their First year surfacing. "Does that mean... The troll..."

"No." Harry immediately assured her, "As I said, there are specific circumstances needed for a life debt to be formed. The person being saved must be in absolute, imminent threat of death. The one doing the saving must face at least equal threat to their own continued living, while also being in no way obliged to save the person in question, nor having any kind of responsibility for the rescue being needed in the first place." Harry glanced over to where Ginny was still kneeling, "Get off the floor already. Just sit on a bed or something."

"Anyway," he turned back to Hermione, "I am not sure if this is the best time to really explain all of this. Nor is this the best of places. Damn..." he shook his head, "Today is most certainly not going as I had thought it would. Alright, here's the quick version." He locked eyes with Hermione, "The 'offer' Ginny made effectively rendered her into little more than my property. Before you start arguing, understand that if I just said no the Debt would claim her life, and there would be a corpse in this room right now. The questions I asked were a loophole, a way to invalidate the offer if the person making it doesn't know what they are getting into or if someone is forcing them." He looked to Ginny, who was now sitting calmly on Neville's bed, "The fact of the matter is, there was no way for Ginny Weasley to continue existing. There is a reason Life Debts are considered one of the most dangerous pieces of magic."

After several minutes of thinking Hermione finally spoke, "So... What now?" she looked over to the... girl? she had once thought of as friend.

"Well, right now..." Harry glanced down, "You two are going to wait outside while I get some clothes on. I am literally wearing a single towel." Harry grinned as Hermione suddenly became very aware of this fact, blushed Weasley-red and almost ran out of the room, Ginny following her at a much more sedate pace.

Harry sighed as the door closed behind the two females. "Damn."

* * *

Hermione was still blushing when Harry left the dorm, wearing a set of clothing Dobby had procured for him. The jacket, trousers and boots were all made from the hide of a Hebridean Black, with his equally dark t-shirt beneath the open jacked sporting an animated picture of a sleeping red dragon, with a subtext of 'Do not taunt Death'. "Shall we?" With a nod she followed Harry down, Ginny falling in on his other side.

Walking down from his dorm Harry was already reciting a certain spell in his mind when he received a most unpleasant surprise. In fact, he could even go to say that his day just got ruined. Well, more that it had been already.

"What is _he_ doing here!" Harry exclaimed as his eyes locked to a certain red-head he could have lived with never seeing again.

"As he is still a student of Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall, who had accompanied Ron into the common room seemed quite unhappy about this fact, "mister Weasley is returning to his dormitory." She paused when she registered Harry's choice of clothing. "Mister Potter..."

Harry interrupted her with a near-growl, "I see..." he looked over to Hermione, who was visibly worried and sighed, "Dobby, move my things back to the apartment." After another glance to the brunette witch he continued, "After you are done, do the same with Hermione's." As the professor opened her mouth to speak Harry once more cut her off. "Professor, please forgive my bluntness, the last twenty-four hours haven't done my temper any favours, but," he looked the aged teacher right in the eyes, "If you ask me to spend a night in the same room as that sack of refuse, you might as well call up the funerary services." Ignoring the paling red-head behind her, Harry continued, "And if you expect to force Hermione to be anywhere near it without me at her side, I direct you to visit Black lake's newest beach." Without paying any more attention to the other people in the room Harry took Hermione's hand and smiled to her, "Come on."

The trio had made it to the door when Ron shouted, "And where do you think you are going?" he rushed up and grabbed Ginny by her shoulder, "You are not..." The red-head did not get to finish as his (former) sister punched him hard enough to actually break his nose.

"Touch me again and I will break the one head you are actually thinking with." She spat at him before turning around and following her now-owner out of the Gryffindor common room.

"Ahh shit..." Ron moaned as he touched his nose, blood freely flowing across his face.

"Five points from Gryffindor for foul language, mister Weasley." Professor McGonagall snapped before turning around and leaving herself. Neither she nor any of the students in the room made any move to assist Ron as he tried to get up, his blood starting to stain his clothes.

* * *

After several minutes of silent walking Harry led the girls into a small alcove on one of the less-used hallways, _'Blinky, open the door already.'_ "Through here." he nodded to the hidden door that opened in front of them. As Harry led the two girls down the secret passage he momentarily thought back to his own surprise on finding out that Slytherin had created an entire network of hidden tunnels, allowing one who knew them to move around the castle without notice. After two short corridors and two flights of stairs (going up), they arrived at the area Harry had nick-named the 'apartment'. "And we're here." he gestured around, "Doesn't look like much, but there's the bedroom, you two will stay there, me and Dobby can refit the empty room," he begun to point out the rooms, "There's the Potions lab, the study, the ritual room slash storeroom and finally the library." he turned to the two girls. "Any questions?"

"What's behind that door?" Hermione looked to the only door Harry hadn't pointed out.

"My training area." Harry glanced to the door leading to the stairwell down to the Chamber, "I'll show it to you later. Now, I believe I promised you some answers?"

Hermione turned back to Harry, eager to start. She barely had the time to recognize that Harry had his wand pointed at her head when a wordless spell left it and her world went black.

* * *

 _ ***Evil laugh***_


End file.
